485BPOS 1 nationwideriskmanagedincdoc.htm DEFINITIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT Nationwide Risk Managed Income ETF - 485B - 11.22.2019 Combined Document

Filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 22, 2019
1933 Act Registration File No. 333-179562
1940 Act File No. 811-22668
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N‑1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
x
Pre‑Effective Amendment No.          
¨
Post‑Effective Amendment No. 576
x
and
 
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940
x
Amendment No. 577
x
(Check appropriate box or boxes.)
ETF SERIES SOLUTIONS
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 (Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code): (414) 765-5586

Michael D. Barolsky, Vice President and Secretary
ETF Series Solutions
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
777 East Wisconsin Avenue, 10th Floor
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copy to:
W. John McGuire
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004-2541

As soon as practical after the effective date of this Registration Statement
(Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering)
It is proposed that this filing will become effective
o
immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
x
on November 23, 2019 pursuant to paragraph (b)
o
60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
o
on ______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
o
75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
o
on                                pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box
[ ]     this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.





Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF ( NUSI )
Listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.
PROSPECTUS
November 23 , 2019
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the SEC, paper copies of the Fund’s shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the Fund’s reports from your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. Please contact your financial intermediary to elect to receive shareholder reports and other Fund communications electronically.
You may elect to receive all future Fund reports in paper free of charge. Please contact your financial intermediary to inform them that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of Fund shareholder reports and for details about whether your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held with your financial intermediary.

    





Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF (the “Fund”) seeks current income with downside protection.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund (“Shares”). This table and the example below do not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay on their purchases and sales of Shares.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
 

Management Fees
0.68%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
0.00%
Other Expenses*
0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.68%
 

*
Estimated for the current fiscal year.
Expense Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year: $69
3 Years: $218
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategy
The Fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective principally by investing in a portfolio of the stocks included in the Nasdaq-100® Index (the “Nasdaq-100” or the “Reference Index”) and an options collar (i.e. , a mix of written (sold) call options and long (bought) put options) on the Nasdaq-100. The Fund seeks to generate high current income on a monthly basis from a combination of the dividends received from the Fund’s equity holdings and the premiums earned from the options collar. The options collar seeks to generate a net-credit, meaning that the premium received from the sale of the call options will be greater than the cost of buying the protective put options. The options collars is intended to reduce the Fund’s volatility and provide a measure of downside protection.
The Nasdaq-100 is a market capitalization weighted index comprised of the securities of 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC based on their market capitalization. Such securities may include companies domiciled domestically or internationally (including in emerging markets), and may include common stocks, ordinary shares, depositary receipts representing interests in non-U.S. companies, and tracking stocks. As of September 30, 2019, the Nasdaq-100 had significant exposure to companies in the information technology, communication services, and consumer discretionary sectors. The Fund will concentrate its investments ( i.e. , hold more than 25% of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Reference Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries.

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The Fund will generally use a “replication” strategy to invest in the Nasdaq-100, meaning the Fund will generally invest in all of the component securities of the Nasdaq-100 in the same approximate proportions as in the Nasdaq-100. However, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy, meaning it may invest in a sample of the securities in the Nasdaq-100 whose risk, return, and other characteristics closely resemble the risk, return, and other characteristics of the Nasdaq-100 as a whole, when the Fund’s sub-adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund (e.g., when replicating the Nasdaq-100 involves practical difficulties or substantial costs, a Nasdaq-100 constituent becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable, or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations that apply to the Fund but not to the Nasdaq-100).
The Fund’s sub-adviser generally utilizes a proprietary, systematic model to manage the Fund’s options positions in an objective, rules-based manner, although the sub-adviser may actively manage the written call options prior to expiration to potentially capture gains and minimize losses due to the movement of the Nasdaq-100.
The Fund’s options collar strategy typically consists of two components: (i) selling call options on the Nasdaq-100 or another reference asset representing U.S. equity securities on up to 100% of the value of the equity securities held by the Fund to generate premium from such options, while (ii) simultaneously reinvesting a portion of such premium to buy put options on the same reference asset(s) to “hedge” or mitigate the downside risk associated with owning equity securities.
Call Options.  A written (sold) call option gives the seller the obligation to sell shares of the reference asset at a specified price (“strike price”) until a specified date (“expiration date”). The writer (seller) of the call option receives an amount (premium) for writing (selling) the option. In the event the reference asset appreciates above the strike price and the holder exercises the call option, the Fund will have to pay the difference between the value of the reference asset and the strike price or deliver the reference asset (which loss is offset by the premium initially received), and in the event the reference asset declines in value, the call option may end up worthless and the Fund retains the premium. The call options written by the Fund will be collateralized by the Fund’s equity holdings at the time the Fund sells the options.
Put Options.  When the Fund purchases a put option, the Fund pays an amount (premium) to acquire the right to sell shares of a reference asset at a strike price until the expiration date. In the event the reference asset declines in value below the strike price and the Fund exercises its put option, the Fund will be entitled to receive the difference between the value of the reference asset and the strike price (which gain is offset by the premium originally paid by the Fund), and in the event the reference asset closes above the strike price as of the expiration date, the put option may end up worthless and the Fund’s loss is limited to the amount of premium it paid.
The options purchased or sold by the Fund will typically have an expiration date approximately one-month from the time of purchase or sale. The Fund expects the total value of the call options and the total value of the put options to each be up to 100% of the Fund’s net assets. The Fund will use a portion of the premium received from writing call options to purchase put options. Call options written by the Fund will typically have a strike price that is at, near, or higher than the current price of the reference asset, and put options purchased by the Fund will typically have a strike price that is lower (in some cases, significantly lower) than the current price of the reference asset. In addition, both the call and put options will be traded on a national securities exchange and be settled in cash.
The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. Additionally, the Fund’s investment strategies may involve active and frequent trading resulting in high portfolio turnover.

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Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. The principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its objectives. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Fund—Principal Investment Risks.” 
Collared Options Strategy Risk. Writing and buying options are speculative activities and entail greater than ordinary investment risks. The Fund’s use of call and put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the reference asset, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. When selling a call option, the Fund will receive a premium; however, this premium may not be enough to offset a loss incurred by the Fund if the price of the reference asset is above the strike price by an amount equal to or greater than the premium. The value of an option may be adversely affected if the market for the option becomes less liquid or smaller, and will be affected by changes in the value or yield of the option’s reference asset, an increase in interest rates, a change in the actual or perceived volatility of the stock market or the reference asset and the remaining time to expiration. Additionally, the value of an option does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the reference asset.
The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the Fund’s equity holdings. If the price of the reference asset of a written call option rises above its strike price, the value of the option and, consequently, the Fund may decline significantly more than if the Fund invested solely in the reference asset instead of using options. Similarly, if the price of the reference asset of a purchased put option remains above its strike price, the option may become worthless, and, consequently the value of the Fund may decline significantly more than if the Fund invested solely in the reference asset instead of using options.
Correlation Risk. The Fund expects to invest a portion of its assets to replicate the holdings of the Nasdaq-100, and the Fund’s sub-adviser does not expect to sell shares of an equity security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry, or sector, unless that security is removed from the Nasdaq-100. Although the Fund expects to invest a portion of its assets to replicate the holdings of the Nasdaq-100, the performance of such portion of the Fund and the Nasdaq-100 may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs not incurred by the Nasdaq-100. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of the Nasdaq-100 at all times or may hold securities not included in the Nasdaq-100.
Currency Risk. Currency risk is the risk that changes in currency exchange rates will negatively affect the Fund’s investments in companies receiving revenues in foreign currencies. The liquidity and trading value of foreign currencies could be affected by global economic factors, such as inflation, interest rate levels, and trade balances among countries, as well as the actions of sovereign governments and central banks. Adverse changes in currency exchange rates (relative to the U.S. dollar) may erode or reverse any potential gains from the Fund’s investments in securities exposed to a foreign currency or may widen existing losses.
Depositary Receipt Risk. American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) involve risks similar to those associated with investments in foreign securities and certain additional risks. ADRs listed on U.S. exchanges are issued by banks or trust companies, and entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares. When the Fund invests in ADRs as a substitute for a direct investment in the underlying foreign shares, the Fund is exposed to the risk that the ADRs may not provide a return that corresponds precisely with that of the underlying foreign shares.
Derivatives Risk. The Fund invests in options that derive their performance from the performance of an underlying reference asset. Derivatives, such as the options in which the Fund invests, can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks, depending upon the characteristics of a particular derivative. Derivatives may have investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if its derivatives do not perform as anticipated,

4



the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of their reference asset, or if the Fund is unable to purchase or liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. The market for many derivatives is, or suddenly can become, illiquid. Changes in liquidity may result in significant, rapid, and unpredictable changes in the prices for derivatives.
Emerging Markets Risk. The Fund may have exposure to companies domiciled or doing business in emerging markets. Emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Emerging markets may be more prone to political and economic risks, civil conflicts and war, greater volatility, expropriation and nationalization risks, sanctions or other measures by the United States or other governments, currency fluctuations, higher transaction costs, delayed settlement, possible foreign controls on investments, and less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of foreign markets. In addition, many emerging securities markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets.
Equity Market Risk. Equity securities may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting specific issuers, industries, or sectors in which the Fund invests. Common stocks are generally exposed to greater risk than other types of securities, such as preferred stocks and debt obligations, because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payment from issuers.
ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Limitation Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to effect redemptions, in whole or in part, for cash. As a result, the Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment than if the in-kind redemption process was used exclusively. In addition, cash redemptions may incur higher brokerage costs than in-kind redemptions and these added costs may be borne by the Fund and negatively impact Fund performance.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, such as the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares.

5



Foreign Investment Risk. Because of the Fund’s investment in non-U.S. companies, changes in foreign economies and political climates are more likely to affect the Fund than a fund that invests exclusively in U.S. companies. There may be less government supervision of foreign markets, resulting in non-uniform accounting practices and less publicly available information. The value of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax), changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may frequently buy and sell portfolio securities and other assets to rebalance the Fund’s exposure to various market sectors. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and generating greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than you expect.
Industry Concentration Risk. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant percentage of its assets in issuers in a single industry (or the same group of industries). To the extent the Fund’s investments are concentrated in or have significant exposure to a particular issuer, industry, or group of industries, the Fund may be more vulnerable to adverse events affecting such issuer, industry, or group of industries than if the Fund’s investments were more broadly diversified. The Fund’s industry exposure is expected to vary over time based on the composition of the Reference Index.
Management Risk. The Fund is actively-managed and may or may not meet its investment objective based on the portfolio managers’ success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund.
Model and Data Risk. The sub-adviser will make use of quantitative models and information and data supplied by third parties to, among other things, help determine the strike prices of the Fund’s options positions. To the extent the models used by the sub-adviser or the information and data supplied by third parties are incorrect or incomplete, the decisions made by the sub-adviser in reliance thereon will expose the Fund to potential risks and could lead to the Fund incurring losses on its investments.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decision.
Non-Diversification Risk. Although the Fund intends to invest in a variety of securities and instruments, the Fund will be considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors.
Communications Services Sector Risk. Communications services companies are subject to extensive government regulation. The costs of complying with governmental regulations, delays or failure to receive required regulatory approvals, or the enactment of new adverse regulatory requirements may adversely affect the business of such companies. Companies in the communications services sector can also be significantly affected by intense competition, including competition with alternative technologies such as wireless communications (including with 5G and other technologies), product compatibility, consumer preferences, rapid product obsolescence, and research and development of new products. Technological innovations may make the products and services of such companies obsolete.
Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of domestic and international economies, interest rates, exchange rates, competition, consumer confidence, changes in demographics and consumer preferences. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending, and may be strongly affected by social trends and marketing campaigns. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability.

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Information Technology Sector Risk. Market or economic factors impacting information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.
Tax Risk. The Fund expects to generate premiums from its sale of call options. These premiums typically will result in short-term capital gains for federal income tax purposes. In addition, stocks that are hedged with put options may not be eligible for long-term capital gains tax treatment. The Fund is not designed for investors seeking a tax efficient investment.
Tracking Stock Risk. Tracking stock is a separate class of common stock designed to “track” the performance of a specific unit or operating division within a larger company. As a result, a tracking stock’s value may decline even if the common stock of the larger company increases in value. Tracking stocks share many of the same investing risks as common stocks, but the holders of tracking stock may not share the same rights as holders of a company’s common stock.
Performance
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history for a full calendar year. In the future, performance information for the Fund will be presented in this section. Updated performance information is also available on the Fund’s website at www.etf.nationwide.com.
Portfolio Management
Adviser

Nationwide Fund Advisors (“NFA” or the “Adviser”)
Sub-Adviser

Harvest Volatility Management, LLC (“Harvest” or the “Sub-Adviser”)
Portfolio Managers (each since 2019)

Jonathan Molchan, Executive Director and Portfolio Manager at Harvest
Troy Cates, Executive Director and Portfolio Manager at Harvest
Garrett Paolella, Chief Operating Officer at Harvest
Purchase and Sale of Shares
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and most investors will buy and sell Shares through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. Creation Units generally consist of 50,000 Shares, though this may change from time to time. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities closely approximating the holdings of the Fund (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

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Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund’s investment objective has been adopted as a non-fundamental investment policy and may be changed without shareholder approval upon written notice to shareholders.
Temporary Defensive Positions
To respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in a temporary defensive manner by holding all or a substantial portion of its assets in cash, cash equivalents, or other high quality short-term investments. Examples of temporary defensive investments include short-term U.S. government securities, commercial paper, bank obligations, repurchase agreements, money market fund shares, and other money market instruments. The Fund also may invest in these types of defensive investments or hold cash while looking for suitable investment opportunities or to maintain liquidity. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to achieve its investment objective.
Manager of Managers Structure
The Fund and the Adviser have received exemptive relief from the SEC permitting the Adviser (subject to certain conditions and the approval of the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”)) to change or select sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The relief also permits the Adviser to materially amend the terms of agreements with a sub-adviser (including an increase in the fee paid by the Adviser to the sub-adviser (and not paid by the applicable Fund)) or to continue the employment of a sub-adviser after an event that would otherwise cause the automatic termination of services with Board approval, but without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any sub-adviser changes.
Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Risks
This section provides additional information regarding the principal risks described in the Fund Summary above. As in the Fund Summary above, the principal risks below are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Each of the factors below could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and trading prices.
Collared Options Strategy Risk. Writing and buying options are speculative activities and entail greater than ordinary investment risks. The Fund’s use of call and put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the reference asset, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. When selling a call option, the Fund will receive a premium; however, this premium may not be enough to offset a loss incurred by the Fund if the price of the reference asset is above the strike price by an amount equal to or greater than the premium. The value of an option may be adversely affected if the market for the option becomes less liquid or smaller, and will be affected by changes in the value or yield of the option’s reference asset, an increase in interest rates, a change in the actual or perceived volatility of the stock market or the reference asset and the remaining time to expiration. Additionally, the value of an option does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the reference asset.
The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the Fund’s equity holdings. If the price of the reference asset of a written call option rises above its strike price, the value of the option and, consequently, the Fund, may decline significantly more than if the Fund invested solely in the reference asset instead of using options. Similarly, if the price of the reference asset of a purchased put option remains above its strike price,

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the option may become worthless, and, consequently the value of the Fund may decline significantly more than if the Fund invested solely in the reference asset instead of using options.
Correlation Risk. The Fund expects to invest a portion of its assets to replicate the holdings of the Nasdaq-100, and the Fund’s sub-adviser does not expect to sell shares of an equity security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry, or sector, unless that security is removed from the Nasdaq-100. Although the Fund expects to invest a portion of its assets to replicate the holdings of the Nasdaq-100, the performance of such portion of the Fund and the Nasdaq-100 may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs not incurred by the Nasdaq-100. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of the Nasdaq-100 at all times or may hold securities not included in the Nasdaq-100. The use of sampling techniques may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve close correlation between the portion of the Fund invested in the Nasdaq-100 constituents and the Nasdaq-100 itself.
Currency Risk. Currency risk is the risk that changes in currency exchange rates will negatively affect companies receiving revenues in foreign currencies. Adverse changes in currency exchange rates (relative to the U.S. dollar) may erode or reverse any potential gains from a Fund’s investments in securities exposed to a foreign currency or may widen existing losses. Currency exchange rates may be particularly affected by the relative rates of inflation, interest rate levels, the balance of payments and the extent of governmental surpluses or deficits in such foreign countries and in the United States, all of which are in turn sensitive to the monetary, fiscal and trade policies pursued by the governments of such foreign countries, the United States and other countries important to international trade and finance. Governments may use a variety of techniques, such as intervention by their central bank or imposition of regulatory controls or taxes, to affect the exchange rates of their respective currencies. They may also issue a new currency to replace an existing currency or alter the exchange rate or relative exchange characteristics by devaluation or revaluation of a currency. The liquidity and trading value of these foreign currencies could be affected by the actions of sovereign governments and central banks, which could change or interfere with theretofore freely determined currency valuation, fluctuations in response to other market forces and the movement of currencies across borders.
Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may hold the securities of non-U.S. companies in the form of ADRs. ADRs are negotiable certificates issued by a U.S. financial institution that represent a specified number of shares in a foreign stock and trade on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as the Exchange. Sponsored ADRs are issued with the support of the issuer of the foreign stock underlying the ADRs and carry all of the rights of common shares, including voting rights. The underlying issuers of certain ADRs are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. The underlying securities of the ADRs in the Fund’s portfolio are usually denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. As a result, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, because the underlying securities of ADRs trade on foreign exchanges at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, the value of the securities underlying the ADRs may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, regardless of whether there is an active U.S. market for Shares.
Derivatives Risk. The Fund may invest in derivatives, which are financial instruments that derive their performance from the performance of an underlying security or index. Derivatives can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks, depending upon the characteristics of a particular derivative. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if derivatives do not perform as anticipated, the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of other investments which are used to hedge, or if the Fund is unable to liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. The market for many derivatives is, or suddenly can become, illiquid. Changes in liquidity may result in significant, rapid and unpredictable changes in the prices for derivatives.
Emerging Markets Risk. The Fund may have exposure to emerging markets. Investing in companies doing business in emerging markets will, among other things, expose the Fund to all the risks described below in the “Foreign Investments Risk” section. However, there are greater risks involved in investing in emerging market countries and/or their securities markets than there are in more developed countries and/or markets. Generally, economic structures in these countries are less diverse and mature than those in developed countries, and their political systems are less stable. Investments in

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emerging market countries may be affected by national policies that restrict foreign investment in certain issuers or industries. Sanctions and other intergovernmental actions may be undertaken against an emerging market country, which may result in the devaluation of the country’s currency, a downgrade in the country’s credit rating, and a decline in the value and liquidity of the country’s securities. Sanctions could result in the immediate freeze of securities issued by an emerging market company or government, impairing the ability of a Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver these securities.
Equity Market Risk. Equity securities are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors including: expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies; inflation and interest rates; economic expansion or contraction; and global or regional political, economic and banking crises. If you held common stock, or common stock equivalents, of any given issuer, you would generally be exposed to greater risk than if you held preferred stocks and debt obligations of the issuer because common stockholders, or holders of equivalent interests, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from issuers in comparison with the rights of preferred stockholders, bondholders, and other creditors of such issuers.
ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Limitation Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to effect redemptions, in whole or in part, for cash. As a result, the Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment than if the in-kind redemption process was used exclusively. In addition, cash redemptions may incur higher brokerage costs than in-kind redemptions and these added costs may be borne by the Fund and negatively impact Fund performance.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange and may be listed or traded on U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to Exchange “circuit breaker” rules, which temporarily halt trading on the Exchange when a decline in the S&P 500 Index during a single day reaches certain thresholds (e.g., 7%, 13%, and 20%). Additional rules applicable to the Exchange may halt trading in Shares when extraordinary volatility causes sudden, significant swings in the market price of Shares. There can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares.

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Foreign Investments Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to different accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. Investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. With respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of government intervention and expropriation or nationalization of assets. Because legal systems differ, there is also the possibility that it will be difficult to obtain or enforce legal judgments in certain countries. Each of these factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may frequently buy and sell portfolio securities and other assets to rebalance the Fund’s exposure to various market sectors. Higher portfolio turnover may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and generating greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Portfolio turnover risk may cause the Fund’s performance to be less than you expect.
Industry Concentration Risk. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant percentage of its assets in issuers in a single industry (or the same group of industries). To the extent the Fund’s investments are concentrated in or have significant exposure to a particular issuer, industry, or group of industries, the Fund may be more vulnerable to adverse events affecting such issuer, industry, or group of industries than if the Fund’s investments were more broadly diversified. The Fund’s industry exposure is expected to vary over time based on the composition of the Reference Index.
Management Risk. The Fund is actively-managed and may or may not meet its investment objective based on the portfolio managers’ success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund.
Model and Data Risk. The sub-adviser will make use of quantitative models and information and data supplied by third parties to, among other things, help determine the strike prices of the Fund’s options positions. To the extent the models used by the sub-adviser or the information and data supplied by third parties are incorrect or incomplete, the decisions made by the sub-adviser in reliance thereon will expose the Fund to potential risks and could lead to the Fund incurring losses on its investments.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decision.
Non-Diversification Risk. Although the Fund intends to invest in a variety of securities and instruments, the Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Sector Risk. The Fund’s investing approach may dictate an emphasis on certain sectors, industries, or sub-sectors of the market at any given time. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in one sector, industry, or sub-sector of the market, it thereby presents a more concentrated risk and its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors, industries, or sub-sectors. In addition, the value of Shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors and industries. An individual sector, industry, or sub-sector of the market may have above-average performance during particular periods, but may also move up and down more than the broader market. The several industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors, industries, or sub-sectors do not perform as expected. Alternatively, the lack of exposure to one or more sectors or industries may adversely affect performance.
Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of domestic and international economies, interest rates, exchange rates, competition, consumer confidence, changes in demographics and consumer preferences. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending, and may be strongly affected by social

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trends and marketing campaigns. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability.
Communications Services Sector Risk.  Communications services companies are subject to extensive government regulation. The costs of complying with governmental regulations, delays or failure to receive required regulatory approvals, or the enactment of new adverse regulatory requirements may adversely affect the business of such companies. Companies in the communications services sector can also be significantly affected by intense competition, including competition with alternative technologies such as wireless communications (including with 5G and other technologies), product compatibility, consumer preferences, rapid product obsolescence, and research and development of new products. Technological innovations may make the products and services of such companies obsolete.
Information Technology Sector Risk. Market or economic factors impacting information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.
Tax Risk. The Fund expects to generate premiums from its sale of call options. These premiums typically will result in short-term capital gains for federal income tax purposes. In addition, stocks that are hedged with put options may not be eligible for long-term capital gains. The Fund is not designed for investors seeking a tax efficient investment.
Tracking Stock Risk. Tracking stock is a separate class of common stock designed to “track” the performance of a specific unit or operating division within a larger company. As a result, a tracking stock’s value may decline even if the common stock of the larger company increases in value. Tracking stocks share many of the same investing risks as common stocks, but the holders of tracking stock may not share the same rights as holders of a company’s common stock.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION
Information about the Fund’s daily portfolio holdings is available at www.etf.nationwide.com. A complete description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
Nationwide Fund Advisors serves as the investment adviser and has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Fund. Organized in 1999, NFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. and an indirect subsidiary of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. NFA is located at One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, Ohio 43215 and is an SEC registered investment adviser.
NFA also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, distribution, and all other services necessary for the Fund to operate. NFA provides oversight of the Fund’s sub-adviser, monitoring of the sub-adviser’s buying and selling of securities for the Fund, and review of the sub-adviser’s performance. For the services it provides to the Fund, the Fund pays NFA a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 0.68% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

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Under the Investment Advisory Agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”), NFA has agreed to pay all expenses of the Fund, except for: the fee paid to NFA pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, dividends, and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, and distribution (12b‑1) fees and expenses. NFA, in turn, compensates the Sub-Adviser from the management fee it receives.
NFA shall not be liable to the Trust or any shareholder for anything done or omitted by it, except acts or omissions arising out of the Adviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties under the Advisory Agreement or its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement. NFA shall not be liable to the Trust or any shareholder for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase, holding, or sale of any security.
The basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Fund’s Investment Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund’s first Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ending February 29, 2020 .
Sub-Adviser
The Adviser and the Fund have retained Harvest Volatility Management, LLC (“Harvest” or the “Sub-Adviser”) to serve as sub-adviser for the Fund. Harvest is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund, including the general management of the investment and reinvestment of the assets of the Fund and selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Fund’s Board of Trustees. Harvest is a registered investment adviser with its principal office located at 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2620, New York, New York 10170.
Harvest is a derivative asset management firm founded in 2008 and provides investment advisory services to individuals and large institutions.
For its services, Harvest is paid a fee by the Adviser, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate, based on the Fund’s average daily net assets of 0.170% on the first $150 million, 0.224% on amounts from $150 million to $300 million, and 0.340% on amounts greater than $300 million.
The basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Fund’s Sub-Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund’s first Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ending February 29, 2020 .
Portfolio Managers
The Fund is co-managed by Jonathan Molchan, Troy Cates, and Garrett Paolella (collectively, the “Portfolio Managers”), who are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Fund.
Jonathan Molchan is an Executive Director and Portfolio Manager at Harvest where he focuses on the management and creation of new investment solutions. Prior to joining Harvest in 2019 , Mr. Molchan was Portfolio Manager and Head of Product Development at Horizon ETFs Management U.S., where he managed the firm’s options-based ETFs and helped lead all aspects of strategy development. He also held roles in portfolio management, risk, trading, and research at Recon Capital Partners from 2013 to 2017 and Millennium Management . He started his career as an analyst in 2006 at SAC Capital Advisors where he focused on various quantitative volatility strategies in addition to global long/short equity. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Sacred Heart University.
Troy Cates brings over 20 years of trading and portfolio management experience to his role as Executive Director for Harvest, where he guides development of the firm’s ETF product strategies and industry relationships. Prior to joining Harvest in 2018 , Troy served as Managing Director, Head of Trading and Portfolio Manager at Horizons ETF Management U.S. and has enjoyed roles as Partner and Head of Trading at Recon Capital where he oversaw portfolio management and trading for the firm’s ETFs, closed end funds, and separately managed accounts from 2014 to 2017 . Previously, he was an Executive Director at MKM Partners, a research, sales, and trading firm, where he was an institutional execution trader and helped launch the firm’s equity derivatives desk. Troy started his career in 1998 working as a market maker at Spencer Trask, a New York City -based venture capital firm. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from SUNY Albany.

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Garrett Paolella is the Chief Operating Officer for Harvest, managing firm operations and heading up business development including new business lines and strategies. Prior to joining Harvest in 2018 , Garrett served as Managing Director and Head of ETFs at Horizons ETFs Management U.S. where he ran all aspects of the U.S. ETF business. Garret had executive roles as Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer at Recon Capital Partners from 2012 to 2017 and previously as Executive Director at MKM Partners, a research, sales, and trading firm based in Stamford, Connecticut . He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, Magna Cum Laude, from the Gabelli School of Business at Roger Williams University.
The Fund’s SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation structure, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers, and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership of Shares.
HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in Creation Units. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV. APs must be (i) a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC, a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a DTC participant (as discussed below). In addition, each AP must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, Shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.
Most investors buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.
When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. In addition, because secondary market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more than NAV when you buy Shares, and receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares.
Book Entry
Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares.
Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.
Share Trading Prices on the Exchange
Trading prices of Shares on the Exchange may differ from the Fund’s daily NAV. Market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors may affect the trading prices of Shares. To provide additional information regarding the indicative value of Shares, the Exchange or a market data vendor disseminates information every 15 seconds through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association, or other widely disseminated means, an updated “intraday indicative value” (“IIV”) for Shares as calculated by an information provider or market data vendor. The Fund is not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IIVs and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the IIVs. If the calculation of the IIV is based on the basket of Deposit Securities and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash, such IIV may not represent the best possible valuation of the Fund’s portfolio because the basket of Deposit Securities does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current Fund portfolio at a particular point in time and does not include a reduction for the fees, operating expenses, or transaction costs incurred by the Fund. The IIV should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the Fund’s NAV because the IIV may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed only once a day, typically at the end of the business day. The IIV is generally determined by using both current market quotations and/or price quotations obtained from broker-dealers that may trade in the Deposit Securities.

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Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares
The Fund imposes no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by Fund shareholders. Purchases and redemptions by APs, who are the only parties that may purchase or redeem Shares directly with the Fund, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with NAV. As such, the Fund accommodates frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, the Board has also determined that frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase portfolio transaction costs and may lead to the realization of capital gains. To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, the Fund employs fair value pricing and may impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. In addition, the Fund and the Adviser reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.
Determination of NAV
The Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, each day the NYSE is open for business. The NAV is calculated by dividing the Fund’s net assets by its Shares outstanding.
In calculating its NAV, the Fund generally values its assets on the basis of market quotations, last sale prices, or estimates of value furnished by a pricing service or brokers who make markets in such instruments. The values of non-U.S. dollar denominated securities are converted to U.S. dollars using foreign currency exchange rates generally determined as of 4:00 p.m., London time. If such information is not available for a security held by the Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the security will be valued at fair value estimates under guidelines established by the Board (as described below).
Fair Value Pricing
The Board has adopted procedures and methodologies to fair value Fund securities whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. For example, such circumstances may arise when: (i) a security has been de-listed or has had its trading halted or suspended; (ii) a security’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; (iii) a security’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) a security’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the security’s primary trading market. Generally, when fair valuing a security, the Fund will take into account all reasonably available information that may be relevant to a particular valuation including, but not limited to, fundamental analytical data regarding the issuer, information relating to the issuer’s business, recent trades or offers of the security, general and/or specific market conditions and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the security. Fair value determinations are made in good faith and in accordance with the fair value methodologies included in the Board-adopted valuation procedures. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, there can be no assurance that the Adviser or Sub-Adviser will be able to obtain the fair value assigned to the security upon the sale of such security.
Investments by Registered Investment Companies
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including Shares of the Fund. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the Fund beyond the limits set forth in section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Adviser, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Fund.
Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding
Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Fund. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Householding for the Fund is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.

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DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund expects to pay out dividends, if any, on a monthly basis and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. The Fund will declare and pay capital gain distributions, if any, in cash. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing the income and capital gain distributions to you.
Taxes
The following discussion is a summary of some important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Fund. Your investment in the Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.
The Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Code. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a RIC is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, the Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions, when you sell your Shares listed on the Exchange; and when you purchase or redeem Creation Units (institutional investors only).
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) made significant changes to the U.S. federal income tax rules for taxation of individuals and corporations, generally effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. Many of the changes applicable to individuals are temporary and only apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026. There are only minor changes with respect to the specific rules applicable to a RIC, such as the Fund. The Tax Act, however, made numerous other changes to the tax rules that may affect shareholders and the Fund. You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor regarding how the Tax Act affects your investment in the Fund.
Taxes on Distributions
The Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. A portion of dividends received from the Fund (but none of the Fund’s capital gain distributions) may qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations. Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Shares. Sales of assets held by the Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by the Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of the Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains, which for non-corporate shareholders are subject to tax at reduced rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Shares.
Distributions reported by the Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that the Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from the Fund that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations. Since the Fund invests primarily in securities of non-U.S. issuers, it is not expected that a significant portion of the dividends received from the Fund will qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations.

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Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from the Fund.
U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gains distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of Shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.
In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by the Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Shares’ NAV when you purchased your Shares).
You may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment.
If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by the Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.
Under legislation generally known as “FATCA” (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), the Fund is required to withhold 30% of certain ordinary dividends it pays to shareholders that are foreign entities and that fail to meet prescribed information reporting or certification requirements.
The Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns Shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding.
Taxes When Shares are Sold on the Exchange
Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of Shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such Shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.
Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units
An AP having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging AP’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging AP’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an AP who does not mark-to-market its holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.
Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for one year or less.

17



The Fund may include a payment of cash in addition to, or in place of, the delivery of a basket of securities upon the redemption of Creation Units. The Fund may sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment in the proceeds paid upon the redemption of Creation Units.
Taxation of Options Collar Strategy. If positions held by the Fund were treated as “straddles” for federal income tax purposes, or the Fund’s risk of loss with respect to a position was otherwise diminished as set forth in Treasury Regulations, dividends on stocks that are a part of such positions would not constitute qualified dividend income subject to such favorable income tax treatment. In addition, generally, straddles are subject to certain rules that may affect the amount, character and timing of the Fund’s gains and losses with respect to straddle positions by requiring, among other things, that: (1) any loss realized on disposition of one position of a straddle may not be recognized to the extent that the Fund has unrealized gains with respect to the other position in such straddle; (2) the Fund’s holding period in straddle positions be suspended while the straddle exists (possibly resulting in a gain being treated as short-term capital gain rather than long-term capital gain); (3) the losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions that are part of a mixed straddle and that are non-Section 1256 contracts be treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital loss; (4) losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions that would otherwise constitute short-term capital losses be treated as long-term capital losses; and (5) the deduction of interest and carrying charges attributable to certain straddle positions may be deferred.
Foreign Investments by the Fund. Interest and other income received by the Fund with respect to foreign securities may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to state and local tax on Fund distributions and sales of Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. For more information, please see the section entitled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI.
DISTRIBUTION
The Distributor, Quasar Distributors, LLC, is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC. The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Fund. The Distributor’s principal address is 777 East Wisconsin Avenue, 6th Floor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.
The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder services.
No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of Fund assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION
The Fund is new and therefore does not have any information regarding how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund.

18



ADDITIONAL NOTICES
Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of Shares to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of Shares in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of Shares.
Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.
The Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, and the Fund make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The Fund had not commenced operations prior to the date of this Prospectus and therefore does not have financial information.


19



Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF
Adviser
Nationwide Fund Advisors
One Nationwide Plaza
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Transfer
Agent, Index
Receipt Agent,
and
Administrator
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
d/b/a U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Sub-Adviser
Harvest Volatility Management, LLC
420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2620
New York, New York 10170
Distributor
Quasar Distributors, LLC
777 East Wisconsin Avenue, 6th Floor
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Custodian
U.S. Bank National Association
1555 N. Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 
Legal Counsel
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20004-2541
Independent
Registered Public
Accounting Firm
Cohen & Company, Ltd.
342 North Water Street, Suite 830
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
 
 
Investors may find more information about the Fund in the following documents:
Statement of Additional Information: The Fund’s SAI provides additional details about the investments and techniques of the Fund and certain other additional information. A current SAI is on file with the SEC and is herein incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports: Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance after the first fiscal year the Fund is in operation.
You can obtain free copies of these documents, request other information or make general inquiries about the Fund by contacting the Fund at Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701 or calling 1-800-617-0004.
Shareholder reports and other information about the Fund are also available:
Free of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov; or
Free of charge from the Fund’s Internet web site at www.etf.nationwide.com; or
For a fee, by e-mail request to publicinfo@sec.gov.

(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-22668)
PR-HVST

20



Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF ( NUSI )
a series of ETF Series Solutions
Listed on the NYSE Arca, Inc.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
November 23 , 2019
This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus for the Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF (the “Fund”), a series of ETF Series Solutions (the “Trust”), dated November 23 , 2019, as may be supplemented from time to time (the “Prospectus”). Capitalized terms used in this SAI that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge, by calling the Fund at 1‑800‑617‑0004, visiting www.etf.nationwide.com or writing to the Fund, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701.
The Fund’s audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year (when available) are incorporated into this SAI by reference to the Fund’s most recent Annual Report to Shareholders (File No. 811-22668). When available, you may obtain a copy of the Fund’s Annual Report at no charge by contacting the Fund at the address or phone number noted above.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST
The Trust is an open-end management investment company consisting of multiple investment series. This SAI relates to one series: the Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on February 9, 2012. The Trust is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations adopted thereunder, as amended, the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company and the offering of the Fund’s shares (“Shares”) is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the “Board”). Nationwide Fund Advisors (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund, and Harvest Volatility Management, LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as sub-adviser to the Fund.
The Fund offers and issues Shares at their net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). The Fund generally offers and issues Shares in exchange for a basket of securities (“Deposit Securities”) together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (“Cash Component”). The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount (“Deposit Cash”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security or other instrument in the Fund’s portfolio. Shares are or will be listed on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) and trade on the Exchange at market prices. These prices may differ from the Shares’ NAV. Shares are also redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, primarily for a basket of Deposit Securities together with a Cash Component. A Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of 50,000 Shares, though this may change from time to time. Creation Units are not expected to consist of fewer than 25,000 Shares. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, Shares are not redeemable securities.
Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Trust cash at least equal to a specified percentage of the value of the missing Deposit Securities, as set forth in the Participant Agreement (as defined below). The Trust may impose a transaction fee for each creation or redemption. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. As in the case of other publicly traded securities, brokers’ commissions on transactions in the secondary market will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, POLICIES, AND RELATED RISKS
The Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategies are described in the Prospectus. The following information supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the Prospectus. For a description of certain permitted investments, see “Description of Permitted Investments” in this SAI.
With respect to the Fund’s investments, unless otherwise noted, if a percentage limitation on investment is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a subsequent increase or decrease as a result of market movement or redemption will not result in a violation of such investment limitation.
Non-Diversification
The Fund is classified as a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act. A “non-diversified” classification means that the Fund is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its total assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. This means that the Fund may invest a greater portion of its total assets in the securities of a single issuer or a small number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. The securities of a particular issuer may constitute a greater portion of the Index and, therefore, those securities may constitute a greater portion of the Fund’s portfolio. This may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s performance or subject the Fund’s Shares to greater price volatility than more diversified investment companies. Moreover, in pursuing its objective, the Fund may hold the securities of a single issuer in an amount exceeding 10% of the value of the outstanding securities of the issuer, subject to restrictions imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). In particular, as the Fund’s size grows and its assets increase, it will be more likely to hold more than 10% of the securities of a single issuer if the issuer has a relatively small public float as compared to other components in the Index.
Although the Fund may be non-diversified for purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund intends to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”) for purposes of the Code. Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Code may limit the investment flexibility of the Fund and may make it less likely that the Fund will meet its investment objectives. To qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code, the Fund must be diversified (e.g., may not invest more than 5% of its assets in the securities of any one issuer or acquire more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer) with respect to 50% of its assets. With respect to the remaining 50% of its assets, the Fund may invest up to 25% of the Fund’s total assets in any one issuer, subject to certain limitations. See “Federal Income Taxes” in this SAI for further discussion.
General Risks
The value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate with changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular security or issuer and changes in general economic or political conditions. An investor in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time.

2


There can be no guarantee that a liquid market for the securities held by the Fund will be maintained. The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.
Cyber Security Risk
Investment companies, such as the Fund, and their service providers may be subject to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber attacks. Cyber attacks include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber security breaches. Cyber attacks affecting the Fund or the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential company information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses, and cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the Fund’s investments in such portfolio companies to lose value.
Description of Permitted Investments
The following are descriptions of the permitted investments and investment practices and the associated risk factors. The Fund will only invest in any of the following instruments or engage in any of the following investment practices if such investment or activity is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and permitted by the Fund’s stated investment policies.
Borrowing
Although the Fund does not intend to borrow money, the Fund may do so to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund may borrow up to one-third (1/3) of its total assets. The Fund will borrow money only for short-term or emergency purposes. Such borrowing is not for investment purposes and will be repaid by the Fund promptly. Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on NAV of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio. Money borrowed will be subject to interest costs that may or may not be recovered by earnings on the securities purchased. The Fund also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with a borrowing or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate.
Depositary Receipts. To the extent the Fund invests in stocks of foreign corporations, the Fund’s investment in securities of foreign companies will be in the form of depositary receipts. American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) are dollar-denominated receipts representing interests in the securities of a foreign issuer, which securities may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. ADRs are receipts typically issued by United States banks and trust companies which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. Generally, ADRs in registered form are designed for use in domestic securities markets and are traded on exchanges or over-the-counter in the United States. Depositary receipts will not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as their underlying securities.
The Fund will not invest in any unlisted Depositary Receipts or any Depositary Receipt that the Adviser deems to be illiquid or for which pricing information is not readily available. In addition, all Depositary Receipts generally must be sponsored. However, the Fund may invest in unsponsored Depositary Receipts under certain limited circumstances. The issuers of unsponsored Depositary Receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States and, therefore, there may be less information available regarding such issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the value of the Depositary Receipts.
Emerging Markets Investments
The Fund may invest in emerging markets investments, which have exposure to the risks discussed below relating to foreign instruments more generally, as well as certain additional risks. A high proportion of the shares of many issuers in emerging market countries may be held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment. The prices at which investments may be acquired may be affected by trading by persons with material non-public information and by securities transactions by brokers in anticipation of transactions by the Fund in particular securities. In addition, emerging market investments are susceptible to being influenced by large investors trading significant blocks of securities.
Emerging market stock markets are undergoing a period of growth and change which may result in trading volatility and difficulties in the settlement and recording of transactions, and in interpreting and applying the relevant law and regulations. The securities industries in these countries are comparatively underdeveloped. Emerging securities markets are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than the major securities markets in the United States and other more developed securities markets. Stockbrokers and other intermediaries in the emerging markets may not perform as well as their counterparts in the United States and other more developed securities markets.

3


Political and economic structures in many emerging market countries are undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristic of the United States and other more developed nations. Certain of such countries may have, in the past, failed to recognize private property rights and have at times nationalized or expropriated the assets of private companies. As a result, the risks described above, including the risks of nationalization or expropriation of assets, may be heightened. In addition, unanticipated political or social developments may affect the values of investments in those countries and the availability of additional investments in those countries. The laws of countries in emerging markets relating to limited liability of corporate shareholders, fiduciary duties of officers and directors, and the bankruptcy of state enterprises are generally less well developed than or different from such laws in the United States. It may be more difficult to obtain or enforce a judgment in the courts of these countries than it is in the United States. Although some governments in emerging markets have instituted economic reform policies, there can be no assurances that such policies will continue or succeed.
Sanctions and other intergovernmental actions may be undertaken against an emerging market country, which may result in the devaluation of the country’s currency, a downgrade in the country’s credit rating, and a decline in the value and liquidity of the country’s securities. Sanctions could result in the immediate freeze of securities issued by an emerging market company or government, impairing the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver these securities.
Equity Securities
Equity securities, such as the common stocks of an issuer, are subject to stock market fluctuations and therefore may experience volatile changes in value as market conditions, consumer sentiment or the financial condition of the issuers change. A decrease in value of the equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may also cause the value of the Shares to decline.
An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in equity securities, including the risk that the financial condition of issuers may become impaired or that the general condition of the stock market may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities and therefore a decrease in the value of Shares). Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence and perceptions change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies; inflation and interest rates; economic expansion or contraction; and global or regional political, economic or banking crises.
Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the issuer, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with the rights of creditors or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks. Further, unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (whose value, however, is subject to market fluctuations prior thereto), or preferred stocks, which typically have a liquidation preference and which may have stated optional or mandatory redemption provisions, common stocks have neither a fixed principal amount nor a maturity. Common stock values are subject to market fluctuations as long as the common stock remains outstanding.
When-Issued Securities – A when-issued security is one whose terms are available and for which a market exists, but which has not been issued. When the Fund engages in when-issued transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the sale. If the other party fails to complete the sale, the Fund may miss the opportunity to obtain the security at a favorable price or yield.
When purchasing a security on a when-issued basis, the Fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price and yield changes. At the time of settlement, the value of the security may be more or less than the purchase price. The yield available in the market when the delivery takes place also may be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. Because the Fund does not pay for the security until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with its other investments.
Decisions to enter into “when-issued” transactions will be considered on a case-by-case basis when necessary to maintain continuity in a company’s index membership. The Fund will segregate cash or liquid securities equal in value to commitments for the when-issued transactions. The Fund will segregate additional liquid assets daily so that the value of such assets is equal to the amount of the commitments.
Types of Equity Securities:
Common Stocks – Common stocks represent units of ownership in a company. Common stocks usually carry voting rights and earn dividends. Unlike preferred stocks, which are described below, dividends on common stocks are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the company’s board of directors.
Preferred Stocks – Preferred stocks are also units of ownership in a company. Preferred stocks normally have preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of the company. However, in all other respects, preferred stocks are subordinated to the liabilities of the issuer. Unlike common stocks, preferred stocks are generally not entitled to vote on corporate matters. Types of preferred stocks include adjustable-rate preferred stock, fixed dividend preferred stock, perpetual preferred stock, and sinking fund preferred stock.
Generally, the market values of preferred stock with a fixed dividend rate and no conversion element vary inversely with interest rates and perceived credit risk.

4


Rights and Warrants – A right is a privilege granted to existing shareholders of a corporation to subscribe to shares of a new issue of common stock before it is issued. Rights normally have a short life of usually two to four weeks, are freely transferable and entitle the holder to buy the new common stock at a lower price than the public offering price. Warrants are securities that are usually issued together with a debt security or preferred stock and that give the holder the right to buy proportionate amount of common stock at a specified price. Warrants are freely transferable and are traded on major exchanges. Unlike rights, warrants normally have a life that is measured in years and entitles the holder to buy common stock of a company at a price that is usually higher than the market price at the time the warrant is issued. Corporations often issue warrants to make the accompanying debt security more attractive.
An investment in warrants and rights may entail greater risks than certain other types of investments. Generally, rights and warrants do not carry the right to receive dividends or exercise voting rights with respect to the underlying securities, and they do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuer. In addition, their value does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities, and they cease to have value if they are not exercised on or before their expiration date. Investing in rights and warrants increases the potential profit or loss to be realized from the investment as compared with investing the same amount in the underlying securities.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) — A REIT is a corporation or business trust (that would otherwise be taxed as a corporation) which meets the definitional requirements of the Code. The Code permits a qualifying REIT to deduct from taxable income the dividends paid, thereby effectively eliminating corporate level federal income tax. To meet the definitional requirements of the Code, a REIT must, among other things: invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including mortgages and other REITs), cash and government securities; derive most of its income from rents from real property or interest on loans secured by mortgages on real property; and, in general, distribute annually 90% or more of its taxable income (other than net capital gains) to shareholders.
REITs are sometimes informally characterized as Equity REITs and Mortgage REITs. An Equity REIT invests primarily in the fee ownership or leasehold ownership of land and buildings (e.g., commercial equity REITs and residential equity REITs); a Mortgage REIT invests primarily in mortgages on real property, which may secure construction, development or long-term loans.
REITs may be affected by changes in underlying real estate values, which may have an exaggerated effect to the extent that REITs in which the Fund invests may concentrate investments in particular geographic regions or property types. Additionally, rising interest rates may cause investors in REITs to demand a higher annual yield from future distributions, which may in turn decrease market prices for equity securities issued by REITs. Rising interest rates also generally increase the costs of obtaining financing, which could cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline. During periods of declining interest rates, certain Mortgage REITs may hold mortgages that the mortgagors elect to prepay, which prepayment may diminish the yield on securities issued by such Mortgage REITs. In addition, Mortgage REITs may be affected by the ability of borrowers to repay when due the debt extended by the REIT and Equity REITs may be affected by the ability of tenants to pay rent.
Certain REITs have relatively small market capitalization, which may tend to increase the volatility of the market price of securities issued by such REITs. Furthermore, REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills, have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in operating and financing a limited number of projects. By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder will bear not only his or her proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also, indirectly, similar expenses of the REITs. REITs depend generally on their ability to generate cash flow to make distributions to shareholders 
In addition to these risks, Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, while Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended. Further, Equity and Mortgage REITs are dependent upon management skills and generally may not be diversified. Equity and Mortgage REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. In addition, Equity and Mortgage REITs could possibly fail to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally available to REITs under the Code or fail to maintain their exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act. The above factors may also adversely affect a borrower’s or a lessee’s ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting its investments.
Smaller-Sized Companies. Investors in smaller-sized companies typically take on greater risk and price volatility than they would by investing in larger, more established companies.  This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of their smaller size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of management depth.  The securities of smaller-sized companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market and might not be traded in volumes typical of securities traded on a national securities exchange.  Thus, the securities of smaller capitalization companies are likely to be less liquid, and subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements, than securities of larger, more established companies.
Tracking Stocks. The Fund may invest in tracking stocks. A tracking stock is a separate class of common stock whose value is linked to a specific business unit or operating division within a larger company and which is designed to “track” the performance of such business unit or division. The tracking stock may pay dividends to shareholders independent of the parent company. The parent company, rather than the business unit or division, generally is the issuer of tracking stock. However, holders of the tracking stock may not have the same rights as holders of the company’s common stock.

5


Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”)
The Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies (including ETFs). As the shareholder of another ETF, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other ETF’s expenses, including advisory fees. Such expenses are in addition to the expenses the Fund pays in connection with its own operations. The Fund’s investments in other ETFs may be limited by applicable law.
Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs purchased or sold by the Fund could result in losses on investments in ETFs. ETFs also carry the risk that the price the Fund pays or receives may be higher or lower than the ETF’s NAV. ETFs are also subject to certain additional risks, including the risks of illiquidity and of possible trading halts due to market conditions or other reasons, based on the policies of the relevant exchange. ETFs and other investment companies in which the Fund may invest may be leveraged, which would increase the volatility of the Fund’s NAV.
Foreign Investments
The Fund may invest, either directly or via exposure through a derivative instrument, in securities and other investments (which may be denominated in U.S. dollars or non-U.S. currencies) issued or guaranteed by foreign corporations, certain supranational entities and foreign governments or their agencies or instrumentalities, and in securities issued by U.S. corporations denominated in non-U.S. currencies. All such investments are referred to as “foreign instruments.” Investing in foreign instruments offers potential benefits not available from investing solely in securities of domestic issuers, including the opportunity to invest in foreign issuers that appear to offer investment potential, or in foreign countries with economic policies or business cycles different from those of the United States, or to reduce fluctuations in portfolio value by taking advantage of foreign stock markets that do not move in a manner parallel to U.S. markets. Investments in foreign instruments present additional risks and considerations not typically associated with investments in domestic securities: reduction of income due to foreign taxes; fluctuation in value of foreign portfolio investments due to changes in currency rates and control regulations (e.g., currency blockage); transaction charges for currency exchange; lack of public information about foreign issuers; lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards comparable to those applicable to domestic issuers; less trading volume on foreign exchanges than on U.S. exchanges; greater volatility and less liquidity on foreign markets than in the United States; less regulation of foreign issuers, stock exchanges and brokers than in the United States; greater difficulties in commencing lawsuits and obtaining judgments in foreign courts; higher brokerage commission rates than in the United States; increased risks of delays in settlement of portfolio transactions or loss of certificates for portfolio securities; requirement of payment for investments prior to settlement possibilities in some countries of expropriation, confiscatory taxation, political, financial or social instability or adverse diplomatic developments; repercussions of, or retaliatory measures resulting from, sanctions imposed by other nations and/or supranational entities; and unfavorable differences between the United States economy and foreign economies. In the past, U.S. Government policies have discouraged certain investments abroad by U.S. investors, through taxation or other restrictions, and it is possible that such restrictions could be re-imposed.
Hedging Transactions
The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser, from time to time, employ various hedging techniques. The success of the Fund’s hedging strategy will be subject to the Adviser’s or Sub-Adviser’s ability to correctly assess the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the investments in the portfolio being hedged. Since the characteristics of many securities change as markets change or time passes, the success of the Fund’s hedging strategy will also be subject to the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s ability to continually recalculate, readjust, and execute hedges in an efficient and timely manner. Hedging against a decline in the value of a portfolio position does not eliminate fluctuations in the values of those portfolio positions or prevent losses if the values of those positions decline. Rather, it establishes other positions designed to gain from those same declines, thus seeking to moderate the decline in the portfolio position’s value. Such hedging transactions also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of the portfolio position should increase. For a variety of reasons, the Adviser or Sub-Adviser may not seek to establish a perfect correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio holdings being hedged. Such imperfect correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving the intended hedge or expose the Fund to risk of loss. In addition, it is not possible to hedge fully or perfectly against any risk, and hedging entails its own costs. The Adviser or Sub-Adviser may determine, in its sole discretion, not to hedge against certain risks and certain risks may exist that cannot be hedged. Furthermore, the Adviser or Sub-Adviser may not anticipate a particular risk so as to hedge against it effectively. Hedging transactions also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of a hedged portfolio position should increase.
Illiquid Investments
The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments, as such term is defined by Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act. The Fund may not invest in illiquid investments if, as a result of such investment, more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets would be invested in illiquid investments. Illiquid investments include securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets. The inability of the Fund to dispose of illiquid or not readily marketable investments readily or at a reasonable price could impair the Fund’s ability to raise cash for redemptions or other purposes. The liquidity of securities purchased by the Fund, which are eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A, except for certain 144A bonds, will be monitored

6


by the Fund on an ongoing basis. In the event that more than 15% of a Fund’s net assets are invested in illiquid investments, the Fund, in accordance with Rule 22e-4(b)(1)(iv), will report the occurrence to both the Board and the SEC and seek to reduce its holdings of illiquid investments within a reasonable period of time.
Investment Company Securities
The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, including money market funds, subject to applicable limitations under Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act. Pursuant to Section 12(d)(1), the Fund may invest in the securities of another investment company (the “acquired company”) provided that the Fund, immediately after such purchase or acquisition, does not own in the aggregate: (i) more than 3 percent of the total outstanding voting stock of the acquired company; (ii) securities issued by the acquired company having an aggregate value in excess of 5 percent of the value of the total assets of the Fund; or (iii) securities issued by the acquired company and all other investment companies (other than treasury stock of the Fund) having an aggregate value in excess of 10 percent of the value of the total assets of the Fund. To the extent allowed by law or regulation, the Fund may invest its assets in securities of investment companies that are money market funds in excess of the limits discussed above.
If the Fund invests in and, thus, is a shareholder of, another investment company, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by such other investment company, including advisory fees, in addition to both the management fees payable directly by the Fund to the Fund’s own investment adviser and the other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with the Fund’s own operations.
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in securities of other registered investment companies, including the Fund. The acquisition of Shares by registered investment companies is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, except as may be permitted by exemptive rules under the 1940 Act or as may at some future time be permitted by an exemptive order that permits registered investment companies to invest in the Fund beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including that the registered investment company enter into an agreement with the Fund regarding the terms of the investment.
The Fund may rely on Section 12(d)(1)(F) and Rule 12d1-3 of the 1940 Act, which provide an exemption from Section 12(d)(1) that allows the Fund to invest all of its assets in other registered funds, including ETFs, if, among other conditions: (a) the Fund, together with its affiliates, acquires no more than 3 percent of the outstanding voting stock of any acquired fund, and (b) the sales load charged on Shares is no greater than the limits set forth in Rule 2341 of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).
Money Market Instruments
The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in high-quality money market instruments on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons. The instruments in which the Fund may invest include: (i) short-term obligations issued by the U.S. Government; (ii) negotiable certificates of deposit (“CDs”), fixed time deposits and bankers’ acceptances of U.S. and foreign banks and similar institutions; (iii) commercial paper rated at the date of purchase “Prime-1” by Moody’s or “A-1+” or “A-1” by S&P or, if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Fund; and (iv) repurchase agreements. CDs are short-term negotiable obligations of commercial banks. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Banker’s acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.
Non-U.S. Securities 
The Fund may invest directly or indirectly in non-U.S. securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, non-U.S. securities may be subject to currency risks or to foreign government taxes. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than about a U.S. issuer, and a foreign issuer may or may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards and practices comparable to those in the United States. Other risks of investing in such securities include political or economic instability in the country involved, the difficulty of predicting international trade patterns and the possibility of imposition of exchange controls. The prices of such securities may be more volatile than those of domestic securities. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is a possibility of expropriation of assets or nationalization, imposition of withholding taxes on dividend or interest payments, difficulty in obtaining and enforcing judgments against foreign entities or diplomatic developments which could affect investment in these countries. Losses and other expenses may be incurred in converting between various currencies in connection with purchases and sales of foreign securities. Since foreign exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares. Conversely, Shares may trade on days when foreign exchanges are closed. Each of these factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments.
Non-U.S. markets may not be as developed or efficient as, and may be more volatile than, those in the United States. While the volume of shares traded on non-U.S. markets generally has been growing, such markets usually have substantially less volume than U.S. markets. Therefore, the Fund’s investment in non-U.S. securities may be less liquid and subject to more rapid and erratic price movements than comparable securities listed for trading on U.S. exchanges. Non-U.S. securities may trade at price/earnings multiples higher than

7


comparable U.S. securities and such levels may not be sustainable. There may be less government supervision and regulation of foreign exchanges, brokers, banks, and listed companies abroad than in the United States. Moreover, settlement practices for transactions in foreign markets may differ from those in U.S. markets. Such differences may include delays beyond periods customary in the U.S. and practices, such as delivery of securities prior to receipt of payment, that increase the likelihood of a failed settlement, which can result in losses to the Fund. The value of non-U.S. investments and the investment income derived from them may also be affected unfavorably by changes in currency exchange control regulations. Foreign brokerage commissions, custodial expenses, and other fees are also generally higher than for securities traded in the United States. This may cause the Fund to incur higher portfolio transaction costs than domestic funds. Fluctuations in exchange rates may also affect the earning power and asset value of the foreign entity issuing a security, even one denominated in U.S. dollars. Dividend and interest payments may be repatriated based on the exchange rate at the time of disbursement, and restrictions on capital flows may be imposed.
Set forth below for certain markets in which the Fund may invest are brief descriptions of some of the conditions and risks in each such market.
Investments in Developed Markets Securities. Investments in developed country issuers may subject the Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, economic, and other risks associated with developed countries. Developed countries tend to represent a significant portion of the global economy and have generally experienced slower economic growth than some less developed countries. Certain developed countries have experienced security concerns, such as terrorism and strained international relations. Incidents involving a country’s or region’s security may cause uncertainty in its markets and may adversely affect its economy and the Fund’s investments. In addition, developed countries may be adversely impacted by changes to the economic conditions of certain key trading partners, regulatory burdens, debt burdens, and the price or availability of certain commodities.
Investments in Emerging Markets Securities. Investments in securities listed and traded in emerging markets are subject to additional risks that may not be present for U.S. investments or investments in more developed non-U.S. markets. Such risks may include: (i) greater market volatility; (ii) lower trading volume; (iii) greater social, political and economic uncertainty; (iv) governmental controls on foreign investments and limitations on repatriation of invested capital; (v) the risk that companies may be held to lower disclosure, corporate governance, auditing and financial reporting standards than companies in more developed markets; and (vi) the risk that there may be less protection of property rights than in other countries. Emerging markets are generally less liquid and less efficient than developed securities markets.
Investments in Europe. Most developed countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (“EU”), and many are also members of the European Monetary Union (EMU), which requires compliance with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits, and debt levels. Unemployment in certain European nations is historically high and several countries face significant debt problems. These conditions can significantly affect every country in Europe. The euro is the official currency of the EU. The Fund, through its investments in Europe, may have significant exposure to the euro and events affecting the euro. Recent market events affecting several of the EU member countries have adversely affected the sovereign debt issued by those countries, and ultimately may lead to a decline in the value of the euro. A significant decline in the value of the euro may produce unpredictable effects on trade and commerce generally and could lead to increased volatility in financial markets worldwide.
At a referendum in June 2016, the United Kingdom (“UK”) voted to leave the EU. On March 29, 2017, the UK formally notified the European Council of its intention to withdraw from the EU (known as “Brexit”) within two years after providing such notice, leading to an official date for Brexit of March 29, 2019. However, on March 29, 2019, Parliament of the UK voted down a formal plan whereby the UK would withdraw from the EU without any agreements in place regarding future dealings between the governments of both parties, as well as their respective businesses. The EU then granted the UK an extension to allow it to remain a member of the EU through October 31, 2019, subject to certain conditions, to provide the UK additional time to further negotiate such agreements with the EU. Unable to negotiate a Brexit agreement by the October 31 deadline, Parliament voted to (i) hold a general election on December 12, 2019 and (ii) delay Brexit until January 31, 2020, unless agreement on the terms of the UK’s withdrawal is reached in advance of this date, at which point an earlier withdrawal can take place. Negotiations are ongoing and subject to further developments.
During this period and beyond, the impact on the UK and European economies and the broader global economy could be significant, resulting in negative impacts, such as increased volatility and illiquidity, potentially lower economic growth on markets in the UK, Europe, and globally, and changes in legal and regulatory regimes to which certain Fund assets are or become subject, any of which may adversely affect the value of Fund investments. Also as a result of the referendum, on June 27, 2016, Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) downgraded the UK’s credit rating from “AAA” to “AA” with a “negative outlook,” and on June 30, 2016, S&P downgraded the EU’s credit rating from “AA+” to “AA”. Other credit ratings agencies have taken similar actions.
The effects of Brexit will depend, in part, on agreements the UK negotiates to retain access to EU markets, either during a transitional period or more permanently, including, but not limited to, current trade and finance agreements. Brexit could lead to legal and tax uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations, as the UK determines which EU laws to replace or replicate. The extent of the impact of the withdrawal negotiations in the UK and in global markets, as well as any

8


associated adverse consequences, remain unclear, and the uncertainty may have a significant negative effect on the value of Fund investments. If one or more other countries were to exit the EU or abandon the use of the euro as a currency, the value of investments tied to those countries or the euro could decline significantly and unpredictably.
Options 
The Fund utilizes options contracts. The Fund will segregate cash and/or appropriate liquid assets if required to do so by SEC or Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regulation or interpretation.
The Fund may purchase and sell put and call options. Such options may relate to particular securities and may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange and issued by the Options Clearing Corporation. Options trading is a highly specialized activity that entails greater than ordinary investment risk. Options on particular securities may be more volatile than the underlying securities, and therefore, on a percentage basis, an investment in options may be subject to greater fluctuation than an investment in the underlying securities themselves.
Cover for Options Positions. Transactions using options (other than options that the Fund has purchased) expose the Fund to an obligation to another party. The Fund will not enter into any such transactions unless it owns either (i) an offsetting (“covered”) position in securities or other options or (ii) cash or liquid securities with a value sufficient at all times to cover its potential obligations not covered as provided in (i) above. The Fund will comply with SEC guidelines regarding cover for these instruments and, if the guidelines so require, set aside cash or liquid securities in a segregated account with the Custodian in the prescribed amount. Under current SEC guidelines, the Fund will segregate assets to cover transactions in which the Fund writes or sells options.
Assets used as cover or held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the position in the corresponding option is open, unless they are replaced with similar assets. As a result, the commitment of a large portion of the Fund’s assets as cover or in segregated accounts could impede portfolio management or the Fund’s ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
CFTC Regulation. To the extent the Fund invests in futures, options on futures or other instruments subject to regulation by the CFTC, it will seek to do so in reliance upon and in accordance with CFTC Rule 4.5. Specifically, pursuant to CFTC Rule 4.5, the Trust may claim exclusion from the definition of CPO, and thus from having to register as a CPO, with regard to the Fund that enters into commodity futures, commodity options or swaps solely for “bona fide hedging purposes,” or that limits its investment in commodities to a “de minimis” amount, as defined in CFTC rules, so long as Shares are not marketed as interests in a commodity pool or other vehicle for trading in commodity futures, commodity options or swaps. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has filed a notice of eligibility for exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” in accordance with CFTC Rule 4.5. Therefore, neither the Trust nor the Fund is deemed to be a “commodity pool” or “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), and they are not subject to registration or regulation as such under the CEA. It is expected that the Fund will be able to operate pursuant to the limitations under CFTC Rule 4.5 without materially adversely affecting its ability to achieve its investment objective. If, however, these limitations were to make it difficult for the Fund to achieve its investment objective in the future, the Trust may determine to operate the Fund as a regulated commodity pool pursuant to the Trust’s CPO registration or to reorganize or close the Fund or to materially change the Fund’s investment objective and strategy. In addition, as of the date of this SAI, the Adviser is not deemed to be a “commodity pool operator” or “commodity trading adviser” with respect to the advisory services it provides to the Fund. 
Securities Lending
The Fund may lend portfolio securities in an amount up to one-third of its total assets to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In a portfolio securities lending transaction, the Fund receives from the borrower an amount equal to the interest paid or the dividends declared on the loaned securities during the term of the loan as well as the interest on the collateral securities, less any fees (such as finders or administrative fees) the Fund pays in arranging the loan. The Fund may share the interest it receives on the collateral securities with the borrower. The terms of the Fund’s loans permit the Fund to reacquire loaned securities on five business days’ notice or in time to vote on any important matter. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the applicable Fund or borrower at any time, and the borrowed securities must be returned when the loan is terminated. The Fund may pay fees to arrange for securities loans.
The SEC currently requires that the following conditions must be met whenever the Fund’s portfolio securities are loaned: (1) the Fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral from the borrower; (2) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (3) the Fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (4) the Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (5) the Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees approved by the Board in connection with the loan; (6) while voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower, the Board must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, and (7) the Fund may not loan its portfolio securities so that the value of the loaned securities is more than one-third of its total asset value, including collateral received from such loans. These conditions may be subject to future modification. Such loans will be terminable at any time upon specified notice. The Fund might experience the risk of loss if the institution with which it has engaged in a portfolio loan transaction breaches its agreement with the Fund. In addition, the Fund will not enter into any portfolio security lending arrangement having a duration of longer than one year. The principal risk of portfolio

9


lending is potential default or insolvency of the borrower. In either of these cases, the Fund could experience delays in recovering securities or collateral or could lose all or part of the value of the loaned securities. As part of participating in a lending program, the applicable Fund may be required to invest in collateralized debt or other securities that bear the risk of loss of principal. In addition, all investments made with the collateral received are subject to the risks associated with such investments. If such investments lose value, the Fund will have to cover the loss when repaying the collateral.
Any loans of portfolio securities are fully collateralized based on values that are marked-to-market daily. Any securities that the Fund may receive as collateral will not become part of the Fund’s investment portfolio at the time of the loan and, in the event of a default by the borrower, the Fund will, if permitted by law, dispose of such collateral except for such part thereof that is a security in which the Fund is permitted to invest. During the time securities are on loan, the borrower will pay the Fund any accrued income on those securities, and the Fund may invest the cash collateral and earn income or receive an agreed-upon fee from a borrower that has delivered cash-equivalent collateral.
Short Sales
The Fund may engage in short sales. Short sales are transactions in which the Fund sells an instrument it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of that instrument. To complete a short sale transaction, the Fund must borrow the instrument to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund then is obligated to replace the instrument borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the instrument was sold by the Fund. Until the instrument is replaced, the Fund is required to pay to the lender amounts equal to any interest or dividends which accrue during the period of the loan. To borrow the instrument, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the instrument sold. There will also be other costs associated with short sales.
The Fund will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the instrument increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed instrument. Unlike taking a long position in an instrument by purchasing the instrument, where potential losses are limited to the purchase price, short sales have no cap on maximum loss. The Fund will realize a gain if the instrument declines in price between those dates. This result is the opposite of what one would expect from a cash purchase of a long position in an instrument.
Until the Fund replaces a borrowed instrument in connection with a short sale, the Fund will (a) designate on its records as collateral cash or liquid assets at such a level that the designated assets plus any amount deposited with the broker as collateral will equal the current value of the instrument sold short or (b) otherwise cover its short position in accordance with applicable law. The amount designated on the Fund’s records will be marked to market daily. This may limit the Fund’s investment flexibility, as well as its ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
There is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to close out a short position at any particular time or at an acceptable price. During the time that the Fund is short an instrument, it is subject to the risk that the lender of the instrument will terminate the loan at a time when the Fund is unable to borrow the same instrument from another lender. If that occurs, the Fund may be “bought in” at the price required to purchase the instrument needed to close out the short position, which may be a disadvantageous price. Thus, there is a risk that the Fund may be unable to fully implement its investment strategy due to a lack of available instruments or for some other reason. It is possible that the market value of the instruments the Fund holds in long positions will decline at the same time that the market value of the instruments the Fund has sold short increases, thereby increasing the Fund’s potential volatility. Short sales also involve other costs. The Fund must normally repay to the lender an amount equal to any dividends or interest that accrues while the loan is outstanding. In addition, to borrow the instrument, the Fund may be required to pay a premium. The Fund also will incur transaction costs in effecting short sales. The amount of any ultimate gain for the Fund resulting from a short sale will be decreased, and the amount of any ultimate loss will be increased, by the amount of premiums, dividends, interest or expenses the Fund may be required to pay in connection with the short sale.
Tax Risks
As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed. The tax information in the Prospectus and this SAI is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.
To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment accorded to a RIC under the Code, the Fund must, amongst other requirements, derive at least 90% of its gross income each taxable year from certain qualifying sources of income and the Fund’s assets must be diversified so that at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities (each requirement described in detail below in “Federal Income Taxes”). If the Fund were to fail to meet the qualifying income test or asset diversification test and fail to qualify as a RIC, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. The failure by the Fund to qualify as a RIC would have significant negative tax consequences to Fund shareholders and would affect a shareholder’s return on its investment in the Fund. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be able to cure a failure to meet

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the qualifying income test or asset diversification test if such failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, but to do so the Fund may incur significant fund-level taxes, which would effectively reduce (and could eliminate) the Fund’s returns. Please see “Federal Income Taxes” below for more information.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions or you sell Shares.
U.S. Government Securities
The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance. U.S. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one-year or less; U.S. Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), the Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac).
Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, while the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi-annually and repay the principal at maturity.
On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury announced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), placing the two federal instrumentalities in conservatorship. Under the takeover, the U.S. Treasury agreed to acquire $1 billion of senior preferred stock of each instrumentality and obtained warrants for the purchase of common stock of each instrumentality (the “Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement” or “Agreement”). Under the Agreement, the U.S. Treasury pledged to provide up to $200 billion per instrumentality as needed, including the contribution of cash capital to the instrumentalities in the event their liabilities exceed their assets. This was intended to ensure that the instrumentalities maintain a positive net worth and meet their financial obligations, preventing mandatory triggering of receivership. On December 24, 2009, the U.S. Treasury announced that it was amending the Agreement to allow the $200 billion cap on the U.S. Treasury’s funding commitment to increase as necessary to accommodate any cumulative reduction in net worth over the next three years. As a result of this Agreement, the investments of holders, including the Fund, of mortgage-backed securities and other obligations issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are protected.
The total public debt of the United States as a percentage of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008–2009 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high national debt can raise concerns that the U.S. government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. This increase has also necessitated the need for the U.S. Congress to negotiate adjustments to the statutory debt limit to increase the cap on the amount the U.S. government is permitted to borrow to meet its existing obligations and finance current budget deficits. In August 2011, S&P lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the U.S. In explaining the downgrade at that time, S&P cited, among other reasons, controversy over raising the statutory debt limit and growth in public spending. On August 2, 2019, following passage by Congress, the President of the United States signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, which suspends the statutory debt limit through July 31, 2021. Any controversy or ongoing uncertainty regarding the statutory debt ceiling negotiations may impact the U.S. long-term sovereign credit rating and may cause market uncertainty. As a result, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may be adversely affected.

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INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
The Trust has adopted the following investment restrictions as fundamental policies with respect to the Fund. These restrictions cannot be changed with respect to the Fund without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. For the purposes of the 1940 Act, a “majority of outstanding shares” means the vote of the lesser of: (1) 67% or more of the voting securities of the Fund present at the meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities are present or represented by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
Except with the approval of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, the Fund may not:
1.
Concentrate its investments (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets) in any industry or group of related industries, except that the Fund will concentrate to approximately the same extent that the Reference Index (as defined in the Fund’s Prospectus) concentrates in the securities of companies in such particular industry or group of industries. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, and tax-exempt securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.
2.
Borrow money or issue senior securities (as defined under the 1940 Act), except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
3.
Make loans, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
4.
Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. This shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate, real estate investment trusts or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business.
5.
Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. This shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities.
6.
Underwrite securities issued by other persons, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
In addition to the investment restrictions adopted as fundamental policies as set forth above, the Fund observes the following non-fundamental restrictions, which may be changed without a shareholder vote.
1.
The Fund will not invest in illiquid investments if, as a result of such investment, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment.
If a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or total or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction, except that the percentage limitation with respect to the borrowing of money will be observed continuously.
EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING
Shares are listed for trading and trade throughout the day on the Exchange.
There can be no assurance that the Fund will continue to meet the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares. The Exchange will consider the suspension of trading in, and will initiate delisting proceedings of, Shares under any of the following circumstances: (i) if any of the requirements set forth in the Exchange rules are not continuously maintained; (ii) if the Exchange files separate proposals under Section 19(b) of the 1940 Act and any of the statements regarding (a) the description of the Fund; (b) limitations on the Fund’s portfolio holdings or reference assets; (c) dissemination and availability of intraday indicative values; or (d) the applicability of the Exchange listing rules specified in such proposals are not continuously maintained; (iii) if following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the Shares of such Fund; (iv) if the intraday indicative value is no longer disseminated at least every 15 seconds during the Exchange’s regular market session and the interruption to the dissemination persists past the trading day in which it occurred; or (v) such other event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on such Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove Shares from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.
The Trust reserves the right to adjust the price levels of Shares in the future to help maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the Fund.

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To provide additional information regarding the indicative value of Shares, the Exchange or a market data vendor disseminates information every 15 seconds through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association, or other widely disseminated means, an updated “intraday indicative value” (“IIV”) for the Fund as calculated by an information provider or market data vendor. The Trust is not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IIVs and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the IIVs.
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST
Board Responsibilities. The management and affairs of the Trust and its series are overseen by the Board, which elects the officers of the Trust who are responsible for administering the day-to-day operations of the Trust and the Fund. The Board has approved contracts, as described below, under which certain companies provide essential services to the Trust.
The day-to-day business of the Trust, including the management of risk, is performed by third-party service providers, such as the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, the Distributor and the Administrator. The Board is responsible for overseeing the Trust’s service providers and, thus, has oversight responsibility with respect to risk management performed by those service providers. Risk management seeks to identify and address risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the Fund. The Fund and its service providers employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify various of those possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Each service provider is responsible for one or more discrete aspects of the Trust’s business (e.g., the Sub-Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio investments) and, consequently, for managing the risks associated with that business. The Board has emphasized to the Fund’s service providers the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management.
The Board’s role in risk oversight begins before the inception of the Fund, at which time certain of the Fund’s service providers present the Board with information concerning the investment objectives, strategies, and risks of the Fund as well as proposed investment limitations for the Fund. Additionally, the Adviser and Sub-Adviser provide the Board with an overview of, among other things, its investment philosophy, brokerage practices, and compliance infrastructure. Thereafter, the Board continues its oversight function as various personnel, including the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, as well as personnel of the Sub-Adviser, and other service providers such as the Fund’s independent accountants, make periodic reports to the Audit Committee or to the Board with respect to various aspects of risk management. The Board and the Audit Committee oversee efforts by management and service providers to manage risks to which the Fund may be exposed.
The Board is responsible for overseeing the nature, extent, and quality of the services provided to the Fund by the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser and receives information about those services at its regular meetings. In addition, on an annual basis (following the initial two-year period), in connection with its consideration of whether to renew the Investment Advisory Agreement with the Adviser, and Sub-Advisory Agreement with the Sub-Adviser, the Board or its designee may meet with the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser to review such services. Among other things, the Board regularly considers the Adviser’s and the Sub-Adviser’s adherence to the Fund’s investment restrictions and compliance with various Fund policies and procedures and with applicable securities regulations. The Board also reviews information about the Fund’s performance and investments, including, for example, portfolio holdings schedules.
The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer reports regularly to the Board to review and discuss compliance issues and Fund, Adviser, or Sub-Adviser risk assessments. At least annually, the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, as well as personnel of the Adviser, provides the Board with a report reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Trust’s policies and procedures and those of its service providers, including the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. The report addresses the operation of the policies and procedures of the Trust and each service provider since the date of the last report; any material changes to the policies and procedures since the date of the last report; any recommendations for material changes to the policies and procedures; and any material compliance matters since the date of the last report.
The Board receives reports from the Fund’s service providers regarding operational risks and risks related to the valuation and liquidity of portfolio securities. Annually, the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm reviews with the Audit Committee its audit of the Fund’s financial statements, focusing on major areas of risk encountered by the Fund and noting any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the Fund’s internal controls. Additionally, in connection with its oversight function, the Board oversees Fund management’s implementation of disclosure controls and procedures, which are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Trust in its periodic reports with the SEC are recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the required time periods. The Board also oversees the Trust’s internal controls over financial reporting, which comprise policies and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the Trust’s financial reporting and the preparation of the Trust’s financial statements.
From their review of these reports and discussions with the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, the Chief Compliance Officer, the independent registered public accounting firm and other service providers, the Board and the Audit Committee learn in detail about the material risks of the Fund, thereby facilitating a dialogue about how management and service providers identify and mitigate those risks.

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The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the Fund can be identified and/or quantified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Fund’s goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Board as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. Most of the Fund’s investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, and other service providers, each of which has an independent interest in risk management but whose policies and the methods by which one or more risk management functions are carried out may differ from the Fund’s and each other’s in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Board’s ability to monitor and manage risk, as a practical matter, is subject to limitations.
Members of the Board. There are four members of the Board, three of whom are not interested persons of the Trust, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”). Mr. Michael A. Castino serves as Chairman of the Board and is an interested person of the Trust, and Mr. Leonard M. Rush serves as the Trust’s Lead Independent Trustee. As Lead Independent Trustee, Mr. Rush acts as a spokesperson for the Independent Trustees in between meetings of the Board, serves as a liaison for the Independent Trustees with the Trust’s service providers, officers, and legal counsel to discuss ideas informally, and participates in setting the agenda for meetings of the Board and separate meetings or executive sessions of the Independent Trustees.
The Board is comprised of a super-majority (75 percent) of Independent Trustees. There is an Audit Committee of the Board that is chaired by an Independent Trustee and comprised solely of Independent Trustees. The Audit Committee chair presides at the Audit Committee meetings, participates in formulating agendas for Audit Committee meetings, and coordinates with management to serve as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management on matters within the scope of responsibilities of the Audit Committee as set forth in its Board-approved charter. The Trust has determined its leadership structure is appropriate given the specific characteristics and circumstances of the Trust. The Trust made this determination in consideration of, among other things, the fact that the Independent Trustees of the Trust constitute a super-majority of the Board, the number of Independent Trustees that constitute the Board, the amount of assets under management in the Trust, and the number of funds overseen by the Board. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Trustees from Fund management.
Additional information about each Trustee of the Trust is set forth below. The address of each Trustee of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, 615 E. Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202.
Name and
Year of Birth
Position Held with the Trust
Term of Office and Length of Time Served


Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee
Other Directorships Held by Trustee During Past 5 Years
Independent Trustees
Leonard M. Rush, CPA
Born: 1946
Lead Independent Trustee and Audit Committee Chairman
Indefinite term; since 2012
Retired; formerly Chief Financial Officer, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated (wealth management firm) (2000–2011).
52
Independent Trustee, Managed Portfolio Series (38 portfolios).
David A. Massart
Born: 1967
Trustee
Indefinite term; since 2012
Co-Founder, President and Chief Investment Strategist, Next Generation Wealth Management, Inc. (since 2005).
52
Independent Trustee, Managed Portfolio Series
(38 portfolios).
Janet D. Olsen
Born: 1956
Trustee
Indefinite term; since 2018
Retired; formerly Managing Director and General Counsel, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership (investment adviser) (2000–2013); Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (2012–2013); Vice President and General Counsel, Artisan Funds, Inc. (investment company) (2001–2012).
52
Independent Trustee, PPM Funds (9 portfolios) (since 2018).

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Name and
Year of Birth
Position Held with the Trust
Term of Office and Length of Time Served


Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee
Other Directorships Held by Trustee During Past 5 Years
Interested Trustee
Michael A. Castino
Born: 1967
Trustee and Chairman
Indefinite term; Trustee since 2014; Chairman since 2013
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2013); Managing Director of Index Services, Zacks Investment Management (2011–2013).
52
None
Individual Trustee Qualifications. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve on the Board because of their ability to review and understand information about the Fund provided to them by management, to identify and request other information they may deem relevant to the performance of their duties, to question management and other service providers regarding material factors bearing on the management and administration of the Fund, and to exercise their business judgment in a manner that serves the best interests of the Fund’s shareholders. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve as a Trustee based on his or her own experience, qualifications, attributes and skills as described below.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Rush should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience, including serving in several different senior executive roles at various global financial services firms, and the experience he has gained as serving as trustee of another investment company trust since 2011. He most recently served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and several other affiliated entities and served as the Treasurer for Baird Funds. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer for Fidelity Investments’ four broker-dealers and has substantial experience with mutual fund and investment advisory organizations and related businesses, including Vice President and Head of Compliance for Fidelity Investments, a Vice President at Credit Suisse First Boston, a Manager with Goldman Sachs, & Co. and a Senior Manager with Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Rush has been determined to qualify as an Audit Committee Financial Expert for the Trust.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Massart should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience, including over two decades working with high net worth individuals, families, trusts, and retirement accounts to make strategic and tactical asset allocation decisions, evaluate and select investment managers, and manage complex client relationships, and the experience he has gained as serving as trustee of another investment company trust since 2011. He is currently the President and Chief Investment Strategist of the SEC registered investment advisory firm he co-founded. Previously, he served as Managing Director of Strong Private Client and as a Manager of Wells Fargo Investments, LLC.
The Trust has concluded that Ms. Olsen should serve as a Trustee because of her substantial industry experience, including over a decade serving as a senior executive of an investment management firm and a related public company, and the experience she has gained by serving as an executive officer of another investment company from 2001 to 2012. Ms. Olsen most recently served as Managing Director and General Counsel of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership, a registered investment adviser serving primarily investment companies and institutional investors, and several affiliated entities, including its general partner, Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: APAM), and as an executive officer of Artisan Funds Inc.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Castino should serve as Trustee because of the experience he gained as Chairman of the Trust since 2013, as a senior officer of U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (“Fund Services”) since 2012, and in his past roles with investment management firms and indexing firms involved with ETFs, as well as his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry.
In its periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the Board, the Board considers the complementary individual skills and experience of the individual Trustees primarily in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition so that the Board, as a body, possesses the appropriate (and appropriately diverse) skills and experience to oversee the business of the funds.
Board Committees. The Board has established the following standing committees of the Board:
Audit Committee. The Board has a standing Audit Committee that is composed of each of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Audit Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibilities of the Audit Committee include: recommending which firm to engage as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and whether to terminate this relationship; reviewing the independent registered public accounting firm’s compensation, the proposed scope and terms of its engagement, and the firm’s independence; pre-approving audit and non-audit services provided by the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to the Trust and certain other affiliated entities; serving as a channel of communication between the independent registered public accounting firm and the Trustees; reviewing the results of each external audit, including any qualifications in the independent registered public accounting firm’s opinion, any related management letter, management’s responses to recommendations made by the independent registered public accounting firm in connection with the audit, reports submitted to the Committee by the internal auditing department

15


of the Trust’s Administrator that are material to the Trust as a whole, if any, and management’s responses to any such reports; reviewing the Fund’s audited financial statements and considering any significant disputes between the Trust’s management and the independent registered public accounting firm that arose in connection with the preparation of those financial statements; considering, in consultation with the independent registered public accounting firm and the Trust’s senior internal accounting executive, if any, the independent registered public accounting firms’ report on the adequacy of the Trust’s internal financial controls; reviewing, in consultation with the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, major changes regarding auditing and accounting principles and practices to be followed when preparing the Fund’s financial statements; and other audit related matters. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, the Audit Committee met four times.
 The Audit Committee also serves as the Qualified Legal Compliance Committee (“QLCC”) for the Trust for the purpose of compliance with Rules 205.2(k) and 205.3(c) of the Code of Federal Regulations, regarding alternative reporting procedures for attorneys retained or employed by an issuer who appear and practice before the SEC on behalf of the issuer (the “issuer attorneys”). An issuer attorney who becomes aware of evidence of a material violation by the Trust, or by any officer, director, employee, or agent of the Trust, may report evidence of such material violation to the QLCC as an alternative to the reporting requirements of Rule 205.3(b) (which requires reporting to the chief legal officer and potentially “up the ladder” to other entities).
Nominating Committee. The Board has a standing Nominating Committee that is composed of each of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Nominating Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibility of the Nominating Committee is to consider, recommend and nominate candidates to fill vacancies on the Trust’s Board, if any. The Nominating Committee generally will not consider nominees recommended by shareholders. The Nominating Committee meets periodically, as necessary. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, the Nominating Committee met one time.
Valuation Committee. The Board has delegated day-to-day valuation issues to a Valuation Committee that is comprised of certain officers of the Trust and certain employees of Fund Services. Although the Valuation Committee is not a committee of the Board (i.e., no Trustee is a member of the Valuation Committee), the Valuation Committee’s membership is appointed by the Board and its charter and applicable procedures are approved by the Board. The function of the Valuation Committee is to value securities held by any series of the Trust for which current and reliable market quotations are not readily available. Such securities are valued at their respective fair values as determined in good faith by the Valuation Committee and the actions of the Valuation Committee are subsequently reviewed and ratified by the Board. The Valuation Committee meets as necessary.
Principal Officers of the Trust. The officers of the Trust conduct and supervise its daily business. The address of each officer of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, 615 E. Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202. Additional information about the Trust’s officers is as follows:
Name and
Year of Birth
Position(s) Held with the Trust
Term of Office and Length of Time Served
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past 5 Years
Kristina R. Nelson
Born: 1982

President

Indefinite term; since 2019
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2014); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2013–2014).
Michael D. Barolsky
Born: 1981
Vice President and Secretary
Indefinite term; since 2014 (other roles since 2013)
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2019); Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2012–2019); Associate, Thompson Hine LLP (law firm) (2008–2012).
James R. Butz
Born: 1982

Chief Compliance Officer
Indefinite term; since 2015
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2015); Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2014–2015); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2011–2014).
Kristen M. Weitzel, CPA
Born: 1977
Treasurer
Indefinite term; since 2014 (other roles since 2013)
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2015); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2011–2015); Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (accounting firm) (2005–2011).
Brett M. Wickmann
Born: 1982
Assistant Treasurer
Indefinite term; since 2017
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2017); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2012–2017).
Elizabeth A. Winske
Born: 1983
Assistant Treasurer
Indefinite term; since 2017
Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2016); Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2012–2016).
Trustee Ownership of Shares. The Fund is required to show the dollar amount ranges of each Trustee’s “beneficial ownership” of Shares and each other series of the Trust as of the end of the most recently completed calendar year. Dollar amount ranges disclosed are established by the SEC. “Beneficial ownership” is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the 1934 Act.
As of the date of this SAI, no Trustee or officer of the Trust owned Shares or shares of any other series of the Trust.

16


Board Compensation. The Independent Trustees each receive an annual trustee fee of $140,000 for attendance at the four regularly scheduled quarterly meetings and one annual meeting, if necessary, and receive additional compensation for each additional meeting attended of $2,000, as well as reimbursement for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attendance at Board meetings. The Lead Independent Trustee receives an additional annual fee of $10,000. The Chairman of the Audit Committee receives an additional annual fee of $8,000. The Trust has no pension or retirement plan.
The following table shows the estimated compensation expected to be earned by each Trustee for the Fund’s fiscal year ending August 31, 2020. Independent Trustee fees are paid by the adviser to each series of the Trust and not by the Fund. Trustee compensation does not include reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in connection with attendance at meetings.
 Name
Aggregate Compensation From Fund
Total Compensation From Fund Complex Paid to Trustees
Interested Trustee
Michael A. Castino
$0
$0
Independent Trustees
Leonard M. Rush, CPA
$0
$158,000
David A. Massart
$0
$140,000
Janet D. Olsen
$0
$140,000
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS, CONTROL PERSONS, AND MANAGEMENT OWNERSHIP
A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a fund. A control person is a shareholder that owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. Shareholders owning voting securities in excess of 25% may determine the outcome of any matter affecting and voted on by shareholders of the Fund. Because the Fund is new, there were no beneficial owners as of the date of this SAI.
CODES OF ETHICS
The Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, and the Distributor (as defined under “The Distributor”) have each adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics are designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Distributor from engaging in deceptive, manipulative or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Fund (which may also be held by persons subject to the codes of ethics). Each Code of Ethics permits personnel subject to that Code of Ethics to invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, subject to certain limitations, including limitations related to securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund.
There can be no assurance that the codes of ethics will be effective in preventing such activities. Each code of ethics may be examined at the office of the SEC in Washington, D.C. or on the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES
The Fund has delegated proxy voting responsibilities to the Adviser, subject to the Board’s oversight, and the Adviser has delegated proxy voting responsibilities to the Sub-Adviser, subject to the Adviser’s oversight. In delegating proxy responsibilities, the Board has directed that proxies be voted consistent with the Fund’s and its shareholders’ best interests and in compliance with all applicable proxy voting rules and regulations. The Sub-Adviser has adopted proxy voting policies and guidelines for this purpose (“Proxy Voting Policies”) and has engaged a third-party proxy firm to assist with voting proxies in a timely manner. A copy of the Proxy Voting Policies is set forth in Appendix A to this SAI. The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the Proxy Voting Policies. The Proxy Voting Policies have been adopted by the Trust as the policies and procedures that the Sub-Adviser will use when voting proxies on behalf of the Fund.
The Proxy Voting Policies address, among other things, material conflicts of interest that may arise between the interests of the Fund and the interests of the Sub-Adviser. The Proxy Voting Policies will ensure that all issues brought to shareholders are analyzed in light of the Sub-Adviser’s fiduciary responsibilities.
When available, information on how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12 month period ended June 30 will be available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling 1‑800‑617‑0004 and (2) on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

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INVESTMENT ADVISER AND SUB-ADVISER
Investment Adviser
Nationwide Fund Advisors, a Delaware business trust, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. Organized in 1999, NFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. and an indirect subsidiary of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
NFA arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, distribution, and all other services necessary for the Fund to operate. NFA provides oversight of the Sub-Adviser, defined below, monitoring of the Sub-Adviser’s buying and selling of securities for the Fund, and review of the Sub-Adviser’s performance. For the services it provides to the Fund, each Fund pays NFA a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 0.68% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.
Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, NFA has agreed to pay all expenses of the Fund, except for: the fee paid to NFA pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, and distribution (12b-1) fees and expenses.
NFA, in turn, compensates the Sub-Adviser from the management fee it receives from the applicable fund. NFA shall not be liable to the Trust or any shareholder for anything done or omitted by it, except acts or omissions involving willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties imposed upon it by its agreement with the Trust.
The Fund is new and has not paid management fees to the Adviser as of the date of this SAI.
Sub-Adviser
The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Adviser have retained Harvest Volatility Management, LLC (“Harvest” or the “Sub-Adviser”), located at 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2620, New York, New York 10170, to serve as sub-adviser for the Fund. The Sub-Adviser is a registered investment adviser and Delaware limited liability company.
Pursuant to a Sub-Advisory Agreement by and among the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”), the Sub-Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities on behalf of the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. For the services it provides to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser is compensated by the Adviser from the management fees paid by the Fund to the Adviser.
The Sub-Advisory Agreement was approved by the Trustees (including all the Independent Trustees) and the Adviser, as sole shareholder of the Fund, in compliance with the 1940 Act. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will continue in force for an initial period of two years. Thereafter, the Sub-Advisory Agreement is renewable from year to year with respect to the Fund, so long as its continuance is approved at least annually (1) by the vote, cast in person at a meeting called for that purpose, of a majority of those Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust; and (2) by the majority vote of either the full Board or the vote of a majority of the outstanding Shares. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment, and is terminable at any time without penalty (i) by the Board, by the Adviser, or by a majority of the outstanding Shares of the Fund, on not less than 60 days’ written notice to the Sub-Adviser, or (ii) by the Sub-Adviser on 90 days’ written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. The Sub-Advisory Agreement provides that the Sub-Adviser shall not be protected against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its obligations or duties thereunder.
The Fund is new, and the Adviser has not paid sub-advisory fees to the Sub-Adviser in connection with the Fund as of the date of this SAI.
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
The Fund is managed by Jonathan Molchan, Troy Cates, and Garrett Paolella for the Sub-Adviser (the “Portfolio Manager”).
Other Accounts. As of November 21, 2019, the Portfolio Managers did not manage any other accounts .
Portfolio Manager Fund Ownership. The Fund is required to show the dollar range of each portfolio manager’s “beneficial ownership” of Shares as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year. Dollar amount ranges disclosed are established by the SEC. “Beneficial ownership” is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the 1934 Act. As of the date of this SAI, the Portfolio Managers did not beneficially own Shares.
Portfolio Manager Compensation. Mr. Molchan, Mr. Cates, and Mr. Paolella each receive a base salary and yearly bonus from the Sub-Adviser.
Description of Material Conflicts of Interest. The portfolio managers’ management of “other accounts” may give rise to potential conflicts of interest disclosure in connection with their management of the Fund’s investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have similar investment objectives or strategies as the Fund. A potential conflict

18


of interest may arise as a result, whereby the applicable portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include the portfolio managers’ knowledge about the size, timing, and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby the applicable portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund. However, the Sub-Adviser has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts the Sub-Adviser manages are fairly and equitably allocated.
THE DISTRIBUTOR
The Trust and Quasar Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, and an affiliate of the Administrator, are parties to a distribution agreement (“Distribution Agreement”), whereby the Distributor acts as principal underwriter for the Trust and distributes Shares. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Distributor only in Creation Units. The Distributor will not distribute Shares in amounts less than a Creation Unit and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The principal business address of the Distributor is 777 East Wisconsin Avenue, 6th Floor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.
Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor, as agent for the Trust, will receive orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units, provided that any subscriptions and orders will not be binding on the Trust until accepted by the Trust. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and a member of FINRA.
The Distributor may also enter into agreements with securities dealers (“Soliciting Dealers”) who will solicit purchases of Creation Units of Shares. Such Soliciting Dealers may also be Authorized Participants (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or DTC participants (as defined below).
The Distribution Agreement will continue for two years from its effective date and is renewable annually thereafter. The continuance of the Distribution Agreement must be specifically approved at least annually (i) by the vote of the Trustees or by a vote of the shareholders of the Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operations of the Distribution Agreement or any related agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by majority vote of its outstanding voting Shares or by a vote of a majority of its Board (including a majority of the Independent Trustees), or by the Distributor on 60 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Distribution Agreement provides that in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Distributor, or reckless disregard by it of its obligations thereunder, the Distributor shall not be liable for any action or failure to act in accordance with its duties thereunder.
Intermediary Compensation. The Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their affiliates, out of their own resources and not out of Fund assets (i.e., without additional cost to the Fund or its shareholders), may pay certain broker dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries (“Intermediaries”) for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing and educational training or support. These arrangements are not financed by the Fund and, thus, do not result in increased Fund expenses. They are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fees and expenses sections of the Fund’s Prospectus and they do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of Shares or the amount received by a shareholder as proceeds from the redemption of Shares.
Such compensation may be paid to Intermediaries that provide services to the Fund, including marketing and education support (such as through conferences, webinars and printed communications). The Adviser and Sub-Adviser will periodically assess the advisability of continuing to make these payments. Payments to an Intermediary may be significant to the Intermediary, and amounts that Intermediaries pay to your adviser, broker or other investment professional, if any, may also be significant to such adviser, broker or investment professional. Because an Intermediary may make decisions about what investment options it will make available or recommend, and what services to provide in connection with various products, based on payments it receives or is eligible to receive, such payments create conflicts of interest between the Intermediary and its clients. For example, these financial incentives may cause the Intermediary to recommend the Fund over other investments. The same conflict of interest exists with respect to your financial adviser, broker or investment professional if he or she receives similar payments from his or her Intermediary firm.
Intermediary information is current only as of the date of this SAI. Please contact your adviser, broker or other investment professional for more information regarding any payments his or her Intermediary firm may receive. Any payments made by the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, or their affiliates to an Intermediary may create the incentive for an Intermediary to encourage customers to buy Shares.
If you have any additional questions, please call 1-800-617-0004.
Distribution and Service Plan. The Trust has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, which regulates circumstances under which an investment company may directly or indirectly bear expenses relating to the distribution of its shares. No payments pursuant to the Plan are expected to be made during the twelve (12) month period from the date of this SAI. Rule 12b-1 fees to be paid by the Fund under the Plan may only be imposed after approval by the Board.

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Continuance of the Plan must be approved annually by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and by a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the Plan or in any agreements related to the Plan (“Qualified Trustees”). The Plan requires that quarterly written reports of amounts spent under the Plan and the purposes of such expenditures be furnished to and reviewed by the Trustees. The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount that may be spent thereunder without approval by a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. All material amendments of the Plan will require approval by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and of the Qualified Trustees.
The Plan provides that the Fund pays the Distributor an annual fee of up to a maximum of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the Shares. Under the Plan, the Distributor may make payments pursuant to written agreements to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations and insurance companies including, without limit, investment counselors, broker-dealers and the Distributor’s affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Agents”) as compensation for services and reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance. The Plan is characterized as a compensation plan since the distribution fee will be paid to the Distributor without regard to the distribution expenses incurred by the Distributor or the amount of payments made to other financial institutions and intermediaries. The Trust intends to operate the Plan in accordance with its terms and with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules concerning sales charges.
Under the Plan, subject to the limitations of applicable law and regulations, the Fund is authorized to compensate the Distributor up to the maximum amount to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units of the Fund or for providing or arranging for others to provide shareholder services and for the maintenance of shareholder accounts. Such activities may include, but are not limited to: (i) delivering copies of the Fund’s then current reports, prospectuses, notices, and similar materials, to prospective purchasers of Creation Units; (ii) marketing and promotional services, including advertising; (iii) paying the costs of and compensating others, including Authorized Participants with whom the Distributor has entered into written Authorized Participant Agreements, for performing shareholder servicing on behalf of the Fund; (iv) compensating certain Authorized Participants for providing assistance in distributing the Creation Units of the Fund, including the travel and communication expenses and salaries and/or commissions of sales personnel in connection with the distribution of the Creation Units of the Fund; (v) payments to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies and investment counselors, broker-dealers, mutual fund supermarkets and the affiliates and subsidiaries of the Trust’s service providers as compensation for services or reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance; (vi) facilitating communications with beneficial owners of Shares, including the cost of providing (or paying others to provide) services to beneficial owners of Shares, including, but not limited to, assistance in answering inquiries related to Shareholder accounts; and (vi) such other services and obligations as are set forth in the Distribution Agreement.
THE ADMINISTRATOR, CUSTODIAN, AND TRANSFER AGENT
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the Fund’s transfer agent, administrator, and index receipt agent.
Pursuant to a Fund Administration Servicing Agreement and a Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement between the Trust and Fund Services, Fund Services provides the Trust with administrative and management services (other than investment advisory services) and accounting services, including portfolio accounting services, tax accounting services, and furnishing financial reports. In this capacity, Fund Services does not have any responsibility or authority for the management of the Fund, the determination of investment policy, or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of Shares. As compensation for the administration, accounting and management services, the Adviser pays Fund Services a fee based on the Fund’s average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee. Fund Services also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services mentioned above, including pricing expenses.
The Fund is new and the Adviser has not paid Fund Services any fees for administrative services to the Fund as of the date of this SAI.
Pursuant to a Custody Agreement, U.S. Bank National Association, 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, serves as the custodian of the Fund’s assets. The custodian holds and administers the assets in the Fund’s portfolio. Pursuant to the Custody Agreement, the custodian receives an annual fee from the Adviser based on the Trust’s total average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee, and certain settlement charges. The custodian also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses.
LEGAL COUNSEL
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004-2541, serves as legal counsel for the Trust.
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Cohen & Company, Ltd. , located at  342 North Water Street, Suite 830, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 , serves as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund.

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PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Trust’s Board of Trustees has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Fund’s security holdings. The Fund’s entire portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business and may be available through financial reporting and news services including publicly available internet web sites. In addition, the composition of the Deposit Securities is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”).
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES
The Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of funds and Shares. Each Share represents an equal proportionate interest in the Fund with each other Share. Shares are entitled upon liquidation to a pro rata share in the net assets of the Fund. Shareholders have no preemptive rights. The Declaration of Trust provides that the Trustees may create additional series or classes of shares. All consideration received by the Trust for shares of any additional funds and all assets in which such consideration is invested would belong to that fund and would be subject to the liabilities related thereto. Share certificates representing Shares will not be issued. Shares, when issued, are fully paid and non-assessable.
Each Share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required, consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. Shares of all funds of the Trust vote together as a single class, except that if the matter being voted on affects only a particular fund it will be voted on only by that fund and if a matter affects a particular fund differently from other funds, that fund will vote separately on such matter. As a Delaware statutory trust, the Trust is not required, and does not intend, to hold annual meetings of shareholders. Approval of shareholders will be sought, however, for certain changes in the operation of the Trust and for the election of Trustees under certain circumstances. Upon the written request of shareholders owning at least 10% of the Trust’s shares, the Trust will call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more Trustees and other certain matters. In the event that such a meeting is requested, the Trust will provide appropriate assistance and information to the shareholders requesting the meeting.
Under the Declaration of Trust, the Trustees have the power to liquidate the Fund without shareholder approval. While the Trustees have no present intention of exercising this power, they may do so if the Fund fails to reach a viable size within a reasonable amount of time or for such other reasons as may be determined by the Board.
LIMITATION OF TRUSTEES’ LIABILITY
The Declaration of Trust provides that a Trustee shall be liable only for his or her own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee, and shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law. The Trustees shall not be responsible or liable in any event for any neglect or wrong-doing of any officer, agent, employee, adviser or principal underwriter of the Trust, nor shall any Trustee be responsible for the act or omission of any other Trustee. The Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust shall indemnify each person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Trust, any person who is serving or has served at the Trust’s request as a Trustee, officer, trustee, employee or agent of another organization in which the Trust has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise to the extent and in the manner provided in the Amended and Restated By-laws. However, nothing in the Declaration of Trust shall protect or indemnify a Trustee against any liability for his or her willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee. Nothing contained in this section attempts to disclaim a Trustee’s individual liability in any manner inconsistent with the federal securities laws.
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS
The policy of the Trust regarding purchases and sales of securities for the Fund is that primary consideration will be given to obtaining the most favorable prices and efficient executions of transactions. Consistent with this policy, when securities transactions are effected on a stock exchange, the Trust’s policy is to pay commissions which are considered fair and reasonable without necessarily determining that the lowest possible commissions are paid in all circumstances. The Trust believes that a requirement always to seek the lowest possible commission cost could impede effective portfolio management and preclude the Fund and the Sub-Adviser from obtaining a high quality of brokerage and research services. In seeking to determine the reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid in any transaction, the Sub-Adviser will rely upon its experience and knowledge regarding commissions generally charged by various brokers and on its judgment in evaluating the brokerage services received from the broker effecting the transaction. Such determinations are necessarily subjective and imprecise, as in most cases, an exact dollar value for those services is not ascertainable. The Trust has adopted policies and procedures that prohibit the consideration of sales of Shares as a factor in the selection of a broker or dealer to execute its portfolio transactions.
The Sub-Adviser owes a fiduciary duty to its clients to seek to provide best execution on trades effected. In selecting a broker/dealer for each specific transaction, the Sub-Adviser chooses the broker/dealer deemed most capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable execution. “Best execution” is generally understood to mean the most favorable cost or net proceeds reasonably obtainable under the circumstances. The full range of brokerage services applicable to a particular transaction may be considered when making this judgment, which may include, but is not limited to: liquidity, price, commission, timing, aggregated trades, capable floor brokers or traders, competent block trading coverage, ability to position, capital strength and stability, reliable and accurate communications

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and settlement processing, use of automation, knowledge of other buyers or sellers, arbitrage skills, administrative ability, underwriting and provision of information on a particular security or market in which the transaction is to occur. The specific criteria will vary depending upon the nature of the transaction, the market in which it is executed, and the extent to which it is possible to select from among multiple broker/dealers. The Sub-Adviser will also use electronic crossing networks (“ECNs”) when appropriate.
Subject to the foregoing policies, brokers or dealers selected to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions may include the Fund’s Authorized Participants (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or their affiliates. An Authorized Participant or its affiliates may be selected to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions in conjunction with an all-cash creation unit order or an order including “cash-in-lieu” (as described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units”), so long as such selection is in keeping with the foregoing policies. As described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units—Creation Transaction Fee” and “—Redemption Transaction Fee”, the Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of the Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order, even if the decision to not charge a variable fee could be viewed as benefiting the Authorized Participant or its affiliate selected to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions in connection with such orders.
The Sub-Adviser may use the Fund’s assets for, or participate in, third-party soft dollar arrangements, in addition to receiving proprietary research from various full-service brokers, the cost of which is bundled with the cost of the broker’s execution services. The Sub-Adviser does not “pay up” for the value of any such proprietary research. Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act permits the Sub-Adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause the Fund to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. The Sub-Adviser may receive a variety of research services and information on many topics, which it can use in connection with its management responsibilities with respect to the various accounts over which it exercises investment discretion or otherwise provides investment advice. The research services may include qualifying order management systems, portfolio attribution and monitoring services and computer software and access charges which are directly related to investment research. Accordingly, the Fund may pay a broker commission higher than the lowest available in recognition of the broker’s provision of such services to the Sub-Adviser, but only if the Sub-Adviser determines the total commission (including the soft dollar benefit) is comparable to the best commission rate that could be expected to be received from other brokers. The amount of soft dollar benefits received depends on the amount of brokerage transactions effected with the brokers. A conflict of interest exists because there is an incentive to: 1) cause clients to pay a higher commission than the firm might otherwise be able to negotiate; 2) cause clients to engage in more securities transactions than would otherwise be optimal; and 3) only recommend brokers that provide soft dollar benefits.
The Sub-Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain brokerage or research services. This conflict exists because the Sub-Adviser is able to use the brokerage or research services to manage client accounts without paying cash for such services, which reduces the Sub-Adviser’s expenses to the extent that the Sub-Adviser would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) permits the Sub-Adviser to use brokerage or research services for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser may generate soft dollars used to purchase brokerage or research services that ultimately benefit other accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser, effectively cross subsidizing the other accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser that benefit directly from the product. The Sub-Adviser may not necessarily use all of the brokerage or research services in connection with managing the Fund whose trades generated the soft dollars used to purchase such products.
The Sub-Adviser is responsible, subject to oversight by the Adviser and the Board, for placing orders on behalf of the Fund for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of the Fund and one or more other investment companies or clients supervised by the Sub-Adviser are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the several investment companies and clients in a manner deemed equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to all by the Sub-Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security so far as the Fund is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower brokerage commissions will be beneficial to the Fund. The primary consideration is prompt execution of orders at the most favorable net price.
The Fund may deal with affiliates in principal transactions to the extent permitted by exemptive order or applicable rule or regulation.
The Fund is new and had not paid any brokerage commissions as of the date of this SAI.
Directed Brokerage. The Fund is new and had not paid any commissions on brokerage transactions directed to brokers pursuant to an agreement or understanding whereby the broker provides research or other brokerage services to the Sub-Adviser as of the date of this SAI.
Brokerage with Fund Affiliates. The Fund may execute brokerage or other agency transactions through registered broker-dealer affiliates of the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or the Distributor for a commission in conformity with the 1940 Act, the 1934 Act and rules promulgated by the SEC. These rules require that commissions paid to the affiliate by the Fund for exchange transactions not exceed “usual and customary” brokerage commissions. The rules define “usual and customary” commissions to include amounts which are “reasonable and fair compared to the commission, fee or other remuneration received or to be received by other brokers in connection

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with comparable transactions involving similar securities being purchased or sold on a securities exchange during a comparable period of time.” The Trustees, including those who are not “interested persons” of the Fund, have adopted procedures for evaluating the reasonableness of commissions paid to affiliates and review these procedures periodically.
Securities of “Regular Broker-Dealers.” The Fund is required to identify any securities of its “regular brokers and dealers” (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) that it may hold at the close of its most recent fiscal year. “Regular brokers or dealers” of the Fund are the ten brokers or dealers that, during the most recent fiscal year: (i) received the greatest dollar amounts of brokerage commissions from the Fund’s portfolio transactions; (ii) engaged as principal in the largest dollar amounts of portfolio transactions of the Fund; or (iii) sold the largest dollar amounts of Shares. Because the Fund is new, as of the date of this SAI, the Fund did not hold any securities of “regular broker dealers.”
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RATE
Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. High turnover rates are likely to result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions is evaluated by the Sub-Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services. Because the Fund is new, as of the date of this SAI, the Fund does not have a portfolio turnover rate.
BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM
The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) acts as securities depositary for Shares. Shares are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Except in limited circumstances set forth below, certificates will not be issued for Shares.
DTC is a limited-purpose trust company that was created to hold securities of its participants (the “DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers, and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).
Beneficial ownership of Shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants, and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in Shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to in this SAI as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of Shares. The Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the record owner of all Shares for all purposes. Beneficial Owners of Shares are not entitled to have Shares registered in their names, and will not receive or be entitled to physical delivery of Share certificates. Each Beneficial Owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and any DTC Participant and/or Indirect Participant through which such Beneficial Owner holds its interests, to exercise any rights of a holder of Shares.
Conveyance of all notices, statements, and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. DTC will make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee a listing of Shares held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall obtain from each such DTC Participant the number of Beneficial Owners holding Shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement, or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all Shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of Shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.
The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in Shares, or for maintaining, supervising, or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.

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DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to the Fund at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Fund and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Fund shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of Shares, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Exchange.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES IN CREATION UNITS
The Trust issues and sells Shares only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees, if applicable), at their NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order, on any Business Day, in proper form pursuant to the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement (“Participant Agreement”). The NAV of Shares is calculated each business day as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE, generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The Fund will not issue fractional Creation Units. A “Business Day” is any day on which the NYSE is open for business.
Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) closely approximating the holdings of the Fund and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount (“Deposit Cash”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any or all of the Deposit Securities. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for all or a portion of Deposit Cash, the Fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser.
Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund. The “Cash Component” is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares (per Creation Unit) and the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant (as defined below).
The Fund, through NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund. Such Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, to effect purchases of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available.
The identity and number of Shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for a Fund Deposit for the Fund changes from time to time.
The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Cash to replace any Deposit Security, which shall be added to the Cash Component, including, without limitation, in situations where the Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant (as defined below) or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws; or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, “custom orders”).
Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor to purchase a Creation Unit of the Fund, an entity must be (i) a “Participating Party” (i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the “Clearing Process”)), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a DTC Participant (see “Book Entry Only System”). In addition, each Participating Party or DTC Participant (each, an “Authorized Participant”) must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Each Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of a Participant Agreement, on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that it will pay to the Trust, an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component together with the creation transaction fee (described below), if applicable, and any other applicable fees and taxes.

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All orders to purchase Shares directly from the Fund must be placed for one or more Creation Units and in the manner set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. The order cut-off time for the Fund for orders to purchase Creation Units is expected to be 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which time may be modified by the Fund from time-to-time by amendment to the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. The date on which an order to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is received and accepted is referred to as the “Order Placement Date.”
An Authorized Participant may require an investor to make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order (e.g., to provide for payments of cash, when required). Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement and that, therefore, orders to purchase Shares directly from the Fund in Creation Units have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. In such cases there may be additional charges to such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have executed a Participant Agreement and only a small number of such Authorized Participants may have international capabilities.
On days when the Exchange closes earlier than normal, the Fund may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which the Fund’s investments are primarily traded is closed, the Fund will also generally not accept orders on such day(s). Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement and in accordance with the applicable order form. On behalf of the Fund, the Distributor will notify the Custodian of such order. The Custodian will then provide such information to the appropriate local sub-custodian(s). Those placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Distributor by the cut-off time on such Business Day. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the Distributor or an Authorized Participant.
Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash) or through DTC (for corporate securities), through a subcustody agent (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. With respect to foreign Deposit Securities, the Custodian shall cause the subcustodian of the Fund to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities (or Deposit Cash for all or a part of such securities, as permitted or required), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local subcustodian. The Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to the account of the Fund or its agents by no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If the Fund or its agents do not receive all of the Deposit Securities, or the required Deposit Cash in lieu thereof, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. The “Settlement Date” for the Fund is generally the Business Day after the Order Placement Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash represented by the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received by the Custodian in a timely manner by the Settlement Date, the creation order may be cancelled. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the Fund.
The order shall be deemed to be received on the Business Day on which the order is placed provided that the order is placed in proper form prior to the applicable cut-off time and the federal funds in the appropriate amount are deposited by 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time (as set forth on the applicable order form), with the Custodian on the Settlement Date. If the order is not placed in proper form as required, or federal funds in the appropriate amount are not received by 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time (as set forth on the applicable order form) on the Settlement Date, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. A creation request is considered to be in “proper form” if all procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, order form and this SAI are properly followed.
Issuance of a Creation Unit. Except as provided in this SAI, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the subcustodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant subcustodian or subcustodians, the Distributor and the Adviser shall be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor. However, as discussed in Appendix B, the Fund reserves the right to settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than the Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor to accommodate foreign market holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates (that is the last day the holder of a security

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can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security), and in certain other circumstances. The Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting from unsettled orders.
Creation Units may be purchased in advance of receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities as described below. In these circumstances, the initial deposit will have a value greater than the NAV of Shares on the date the order is placed in proper form since, in addition to available Deposit Securities, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the value as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”), which shall be maintained in a separate non-interest bearing collateral account. The Authorized Participant must deposit with the Custodian the Additional Cash Deposit, as applicable, by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If the Fund or its agents do not receive the Additional Cash Deposit in the appropriate amount, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with the Trust, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Participant Agreement will permit the Trust to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants will be liable to the Trust for the costs incurred by the Trust in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the value of such Deposit Securities on the day the purchase order was deemed received by the Distributor plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases. The Trust will return any unused portion of the Additional Cash Deposit once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by the Custodian or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a transaction fee, as described below under “Creation Transaction Fee,” may be charged. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.
Acceptance of Orders of Creation Units. The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject an order for Creation Units transmitted to it by the Distributor with respect to the Fund including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (e) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; (g) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel to the Trust, be unlawful; or (h) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent and/or the Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units.
Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, the Custodian, a sub-custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Distributor shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of the creator of a Creation Unit of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units.
All questions as to the number of Shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust, and the Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.
Creation Transaction Fee. A fixed purchase (i.e., creation) transaction fee, payable to the Fund’s custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase of Creation Units (“Creation Order Costs”). The standard fixed creation transaction fee for the Fund, regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction, is $ 500 . The Fund may adjust the standard fixed creation transaction fee from time to time. The fixed creation fee may be waived on certain orders if the Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Creation Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.
In addition, a variable fee, payable to the Fund, of up to a maximum of 2% of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction may be imposed for cash purchases, non-standard orders, or partial cash purchases of Creation Units. The variable charge is primarily designed to cover additional costs (e.g., brokerage, taxes) involved with buying the securities with cash. The Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of the Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Investors are responsible for the fixed costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order.

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Risks of Purchasing Creation Units. There are certain legal risks unique to investors purchasing Creation Units directly from the Fund. Because Shares may be issued on an ongoing basis, a “distribution” of Shares could be occurring at any time. Certain activities that a shareholder performs as a dealer could, depending on the circumstances, result in the shareholder being deemed a participant in the distribution in a manner that could render the shareholder a statutory underwriter and subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act. For example, a shareholder could be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases Creation Units from the Fund, breaks them down into the constituent Shares, and sells those Shares directly to customers, or if a shareholder chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary-market demand for Shares. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person’s activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause you to be deemed an underwriter.
Dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary-market transactions), and thus dealing with Shares as part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act.
Redemption. Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF THE FUND, THE TRUST WILL NOT REDEEM SHARES IN AMOUNTS LESS THAN CREATION UNITS. Investors must accumulate enough Shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit to have such Shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.
With respect to the Fund, the Custodian, through the NSCC, makes available prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and Share quantities of the Fund’s portfolio securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Fund Securities”). Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities.
Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in-kind or in cash, or combination thereof, as determined by the Trust. With respect to in-kind redemptions of the Fund, redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will consist of Fund Securities - as announced by the Custodian on the Business Day of the request for redemption received in proper form plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Fund Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less a fixed redemption transaction fee, as applicable, as set forth below. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of Shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Trust’s discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of the securities in lieu of the in-kind securities value representing one or more Fund Securities.
Redemption Transaction Fee. A fixed redemption transaction fee, payable to the Fund’s custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the redemption of Creation Units (“Redemption Order Costs”). The standard fixed redemption transaction fee for the Fund, regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction, is $ 500 . The Fund may adjust the redemption transaction fee from time to time. The fixed redemption fee may be waived on certain orders if the Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Redemption Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.
In addition, a variable fee, payable to the Fund, of up to a maximum of 2% of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction may be imposed for cash redemptions, non-standard orders, or partial cash redemptions (when cash redemptions are available) of Creation Units. The variable charge is primarily designed to cover additional costs (e.g., brokerage, taxes) involved with selling portfolio securities to satisfy a cash redemption. The Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for redemption orders that facilitate the rebalance of the Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order.
Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Investors are responsible for the fixed costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order.
Procedures for Redemption of Creation Units. Orders to redeem Creation Units must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent prior to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  A redemption request is considered to be in “proper form” if (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Trust’s Transfer Agent the Creation Unit(s) being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement and (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Trust is received by the Transfer Agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified in the Participant Agreement. If the Transfer Agent does not receive the investor’s Shares through DTC’s facilities by the times and pursuant to the other terms and conditions set forth in the Participant Agreement, the redemption request shall be rejected.

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The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption, in the form required by the Trust, to the Transfer Agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the Shares to the Trust’s Transfer Agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.
Additional Redemption Procedures. In connection with taking delivery of Shares of Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, a redeeming shareholder or Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such shareholder must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account such Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within one business day of the trade date.
However, due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, the different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and dividend ex-dates (that is the last date the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security sold). If neither the redeeming Shareholder nor the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such redeeming Shareholder has appropriate arrangements to take delivery of the Fund Securities in the applicable foreign jurisdiction and it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Fund Securities in such jurisdiction, the Trust may, in its discretion, exercise its option to redeem such Shares in cash, and the redeeming Shareholders will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash.
The Trust may in its discretion exercise its option to redeem such Shares in cash, and the redeeming investor will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that the Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its Shares based on the NAV of Shares next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee, if applicable, and additional charge for requested cash redemptions specified above, to offset the Trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Fund Securities). The Fund may also, in its sole discretion, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities but does not differ in NAV.
Redemptions of Shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Fund Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of Shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer” (“QIB”), as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Fund Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status to receive Fund Securities.
Because the portfolio securities of the Fund may trade on other exchanges on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their Shares, or to purchase or sell Shares on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.
The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to the Fund (1) for any period during which the Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of Shares or determination of the NAV of Shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
DETERMINATION OF NAV
NAV per Share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding, rounded to the nearest cent. Expenses and fees, including the management fees, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV is calculated by Fund Services and determined at the scheduled close of the regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day that the NYSE is open, provided that fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments on any day that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) announces an early closing time.

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In calculating the Fund’s NAV per Share, the Fund’s investments are generally valued using market valuations. A market valuation generally means a valuation (i) obtained from an exchange, a pricing service, or a major market maker (or dealer), (ii) based on a price quotation or other equivalent indication of value supplied by an exchange, a pricing service, or a major market maker (or dealer) or (iii) based on amortized cost. In the case of shares of other funds that are not traded on an exchange, a market valuation means such fund’s published NAV per share. The Fund may use various pricing services, or discontinue the use of any pricing service, as approved by the Board from time to time. A price obtained from a pricing service based on such pricing service’s valuation matrix may be considered a market valuation. Any assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted into U.S. dollars at the current market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more sources.
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”
General Policies. Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid at least annually by the Fund. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Fund may make distributions on a more frequent basis to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act.
Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust.
The Fund makes additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the Fund, plus any net capital gains and (ii) to avoid imposition of the excise tax imposed by Section 4982 of the Code. Management of the Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the Fund’s eligibility for treatment as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.
Dividend Reinvestment Service. The Trust will not make the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service available for use by Beneficial Owners for reinvestment of their cash proceeds, but certain individual broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Fund through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Beneficial Owners should be aware that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables to participate in the dividend reinvestment service and investors should ascertain from their brokers such necessary details. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares issued by the Trust of the Fund at NAV per Share. Distributions reinvested in additional Shares will nevertheless be taxable to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.
FEDERAL INCOME TAXES
The following is only a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that supplements the discussion in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a comprehensive explanation of the federal, state, local or foreign tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussion here and in the Prospectus is not intended to be a substitute for careful tax planning.
The following general discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences is based on provisions of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this SAI. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) made significant changes to the U.S. federal income tax rules for taxation of individuals and corporations, generally effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. Many of the changes applicable to individuals are temporary and only apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026. There are only minor changes with respect to the specific rules applicable to a RIC, such as the Fund. The Tax Act, however, made numerous other changes to the tax rules that may affect shareholders and the Fund. You are urged to consult with your own tax adviser regarding how the Tax Act affects your investment in the Fund.
Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding the application of the provisions of tax law described in this SAI in light of the particular tax situations of the shareholders and regarding specific questions as to federal, state, foreign or local taxes.
Taxation of the Fund. The Fund will elect and intends to qualify each year to be treated as a separate RIC under the Code. As such, the Fund should not be subject to federal income taxes on its net investment income and capital gains, if any, to the extent that it timely distributes such income and capital gains to its shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund must distribute annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its net investment income (generally including the excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income, if any (the “Distribution Requirement”) and also must meet several additional requirements. Among these requirements are the following: (i) at least 90% of the Fund’s gross income each taxable

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year must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or foreign currencies and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Qualifying Income Requirement”); and (ii) at the end of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, the Fund’s assets must be diversified so that (a) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, including the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Diversification Requirement”).
To the extent the Fund makes investments that may generate income that is not qualifying income, including certain derivatives, the Fund will seek to restrict the resulting income from such investments so that the Fund’s non-qualifying income does not exceed 10% of its gross income.
Although the Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and may distribute its capital gains for any taxable year, the Fund will be subject to federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. The Fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. The Fund therefore is considered to be a separate entity in determining its treatment under the rules for RICs described herein. The requirements (other than certain organizational requirements) for qualifying RIC status are determined at the Fund level rather than at the Trust level.
If the Fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Requirement or the Diversification Requirement in any taxable year, the Fund may be eligible for relief provisions if the failures are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, and if a penalty tax is paid with respect to each failure to satisfy the applicable requirements. Additionally, relief is provided for certain de minimis failures of the Diversification Requirement where the Fund corrects the failure within a specified period of time. To be eligible for the relief provisions with respect to a failure to meet the Diversification Requirement, the Fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions were not available to the Fund and it were to fail to qualify for treatment as a RIC for a taxable year, all of its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates (which the Tax Act reduced to 21%) without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and its distributions (including capital gains distributions) generally would be taxable to the shareholders of the Fund as ordinary income, subject to the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders and the lower tax rates on qualified dividend income received by non-corporate shareholders, subject to certain limitations. To requalify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the Fund would be required to satisfy the RIC qualification requirements for that year and to distribute any earnings and profits from any year in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, it would generally be required to pay a Fund-level tax on certain net built in gains recognized with respect to certain of its assets upon disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year. The Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of the Fund for treatment as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders. If the Fund determines that it will not qualify as a RIC, the Fund will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in the Fund’s NAV.
The Fund may elect to treat part or all of any “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining the Fund’s taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earnings and profits. The effect of this election is to treat any such “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in characterizing Fund distributions for any calendar year. A “qualified late year loss” generally includes net capital loss, net long-term capital loss, or net short-term capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year (commonly referred to as “post-October losses”) and certain other late-year losses.
Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against a RIC’s net investment income. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, potentially subject to certain limitations, the Fund may carry a net capital loss from any taxable year forward indefinitely to offset its capital gains, if any, in years following the year of the loss. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to its shareholders. Generally, the Fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. The carryover of capital losses may be limited under the general loss limitation rules if the Fund experiences an ownership change as defined in the Code.
The Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute to its shareholders in each calendar year an amount at least equal to 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year plus 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending on October 31 of that year, subject to an increase for any shortfall in the prior year’s distribution. The Fund intends to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of the excise tax, but can make no assurances that all such tax liability will be eliminated.

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If the Fund meets the Distribution Requirement but retains some or all of its income or gains, it will be subject to federal income tax to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. The Fund may designate certain amounts retained as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the Fund on that undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their tax liabilities, and (iii) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for federal income tax purposes, in their Shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits.
Taxation of Shareholders – Distributions. The Fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), its net tax-exempt income, if any, and any net capital gain (net recognized long-term capital gains in excess of net recognized short-term capital losses, taking into account any capital loss carryforwards). The distribution of investment company taxable income (as so computed) and net realized capital gain will be taxable to Fund shareholders regardless of whether the shareholder receives these distributions in cash or reinvests them in additional Shares.
The Fund (or your broker) will report to shareholders annually the amounts of dividends paid from ordinary income, the amount of distributions of net capital gain, the portion of dividends which may qualify for the dividends received deduction for corporations, and the portion of dividends which may qualify for treatment as qualified dividend income, which is taxable to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%.
Distributions from the Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares.
Qualified dividend income includes, in general, subject to certain holding period and other requirements, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations. Subject to certain limitations, eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States, those incorporated in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States, and other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Dividends received by the Fund from an ETF or an underlying fund taxable as a RIC or a REIT may be treated as qualified dividend income generally only to the extent so reported by such ETF, underlying fund or REIT. If 95% or more of the Fund’s gross income (calculated without taking into account net capital gain derived from sales or other dispositions of stock or securities) consists of qualified dividend income, the Fund may report all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income.
Fund dividends will not be treated as qualified dividend income if the Fund does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to dividend paying stocks in its portfolio, and the shareholder does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to the Shares on which the dividends were paid. Distributions by the Fund of its net short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. Distributions from the Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares. Distributions may be subject to state and local taxes. The Fund’s options collar strategy may significantly reduce or eliminate its ability to make distributions eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income.
In the case of corporate shareholders, certain dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations (generally, dividends received by the Fund in respect of any share of stock (1) with a tax holding period of at least 46 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend and (2) that is held in an unleveraged position) and distributed and appropriately so reported by the Fund may be eligible for the 70% dividends-received deduction. Certain preferred stock must have a holding period of at least 91 days during the 181-day period beginning on the date that is 90 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend to be eligible. Capital gain dividends distributed to the Fund from other RICs are not eligible for the dividends-received deduction. To qualify for the deduction, corporate shareholders must meet the minimum holding period requirement stated above with respect to their Shares, taking into account any holding period reductions from certain hedging or other transactions or positions that diminish their risk of loss with respect to their Shares, and, if they borrow to acquire or otherwise incur debt attributable to Shares, they may be denied a portion of the dividends-received deduction with respect to those Shares. The Fund’s options collar strategy may significantly reduce or eliminate its ability to make distributions eligible for the dividends-received deduction.
Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, any dividend declared by the Fund in October, November or December and payable to shareholders of record in such a month that is paid during the following January will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as received by shareholders on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was declared.
U.S. individuals with adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) exceeding certain threshold amounts ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a “surviving spouse” for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases) are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes taxable interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of Shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.

31


Shareholders who have not held Shares for a full year should be aware that the Fund may report and distribute, as ordinary dividends or capital gain dividends, a percentage of income that is not equal to the percentage of the Fund’s ordinary income or net capital gain, respectively, actually earned during the applicable shareholder’s period of investment in the Fund. A taxable shareholder may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because the distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of the shareholder’s investment.
To the extent that the Fund makes a distribution of income received by the Fund in lieu of dividends (a “substitute payment”) with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction, such income will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.
If the Fund’s distributions exceed its earnings and profits, all or a portion of the distributions made for a taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder’s cost basis in the Fund and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when Shares on which the distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in Shares has been reduced to zero, distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s Shares.
Taxation of Shareholders – Sale of Shares. A sale, redemption, or exchange of Shares may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Shares will generally be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss, rather than short-term capital loss, to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the shareholder of long-term capital gain (including any amounts credited to the shareholder as undistributed capital gains). All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares may be disallowed if substantially identical Shares are acquired (through the reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly acquired Shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
The cost basis of Shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for Shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of Shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of Shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your Shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.
An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot currently be deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for a person who does not mark-to-market its portfolio), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses will generally be treated as short-term capital gains or losses. Any loss upon a redemption of Creation Units held for six months or less may be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable Authorized Participant of long-term capital gain with respect to the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the Authorized Participant as undistributed capital gains).
The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, the Fund would have a basis in the deposit securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require the provision of information necessary to determine beneficial Share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If the Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) will not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.
Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisers with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rule applies and when a loss may be deductible.
Taxation of Fund Investments. Certain of the Fund’s investments may be subject to complex provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to hedging transactions, straddles, integrated transactions, foreign currency contracts, forward foreign currency contracts, and notional principal contracts) that, among other things, may affect the Fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC, affect the character of gains and

32


losses realized by the Fund (e.g., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and defer losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also may require the Fund to mark to market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) which may cause the Fund to recognize income without the Fund receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts sufficient to enable the Fund to satisfy the RIC distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The Fund intends to monitor its transactions, intends to make appropriate tax elections, and intends to make appropriate entries in its books and records in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and preserve the Fund’s qualification for treatment as a RIC. To the extent the Fund invests in an underlying fund that is taxable as a RIC, the rules applicable to the tax treatment of complex securities will also apply to the underlying funds that also invest in such complex securities and investments.
The Fund is required for federal income tax purposes to mark to market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures and options contracts as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. Gain or loss from futures and options contracts on broad-based indexes required to be marked to market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. The Fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on futures contracts, options contracts and swaps to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held by the Fund. These provisions may also require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of positions in its portfolios (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out), which may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirement and for avoiding the excise tax discussed above. Accordingly, in order to avoid certain income and excise taxes, the Fund may be required to liquidate its investments at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so.
Offsetting positions held by the Fund (e.g., the Fund’s options collar strategy) involving certain derivative instruments, such as options, forward, and futures, as well as its long and short positions in portfolio securities, may be considered, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, to constitute “straddles.” Straddles are defined to include “offsetting positions” in actively traded personal property. For instance, a straddle can arise if the Fund writes a certain covered call option on a stock (i.e., a call on a stock owned by the Fund), or writes a call option on a stock index to the extent the Fund’s stock holdings (and any subset thereof) and the index on which it has written a call overlap sufficiently to constitute a straddle under applicable Treasury Regulations. The tax treatment of “straddles” is governed by section 1092 of the Code which, in certain circumstances, overrides or modifies the provisions of section 1256 described above. If the Fund is treated as entering into a “straddle” and at least one (but not all) of the Fund’s positions in derivative contracts comprising a part of such straddle is a section 1256 contract, described above, then such straddle could be characterized as a “mixed straddle.” The Fund may make one or more elections with respect to “mixed straddles.” Depending upon which election is made, if any, the results with respect to the Fund may differ. Generally, to the extent the straddle rules apply to positions established by the Fund, losses realized by the Fund may be deferred to the extent of unrealized gain in any offsetting positions. Moreover, as a result of the straddle rules, short-term capital loss on straddle positions may be recharacterized as long-term capital loss, and long-term capital gain may be characterized as short-term capital gain. In addition, the existence of a straddle can cause the holding periods to be tolled on the offsetting positions. As a result, the straddle rules could cause distributions that would otherwise constitute “qualified dividend income” or qualify for the dividends-received deduction to fail to satisfy the applicable holding period requirements described above. Furthermore, the Fund may be required to capitalize, rather than deduct currently, any interest expense and carrying charges applicable to a position that is part of a straddle, including any interest on indebtedness incurred or continued to purchase or carry any positions that are part of a straddle. The application of the straddle rules to certain offsetting Fund positions can therefore affect the amount, timing and/or character of distributions to shareholders, and may result in significant differences from the amount, timing and/or character of distributions that would have been made by the Fund if it had not entered into offsetting positions in respect of certain of its portfolio securities.
If the Fund enters into a “constructive sale” of any appreciated financial position in its portfolio, the Fund will be treated as if it had sold and immediately repurchased the property and must recognize gain (but not loss) with respect to that position. A constructive sale of an appreciated financial position occurs when the Fund enters into certain offsetting transactions with respect to the same or substantially identical property, including, but not limited to: (i) a short sale; (ii) an offsetting notional principal contract; (iii) a futures or forward contract; or (iv) other transactions identified in future Treasury Regulations. The character of the gain from constructive sales will depend upon the Fund’s holding period in the appreciated financial position. Losses realized from a sale of a position that was previously the subject of a constructive sale will be recognized when the position is subsequently disposed of. The character of such losses will depend upon the Fund’s holding period in the position beginning with the date the constructive sale was deemed to have occurred and the application of various loss deferral provisions in the Code. Constructive sale treatment does not apply to certain closed transactions, including if such a transaction is closed on or before the 30th day after the close of the Fund’s taxable year and the Fund holds the appreciated financial position unhedged throughout the 60-day period beginning with the day such transaction was closed.

33


Foreign Investments. Dividends and interest received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. The Fund does not expect to satisfy the requirements for passing through to its shareholders any share of foreign taxes paid by the Fund, with the result that shareholders will not include such taxes in their gross incomes and will not be entitled to a tax deduction or credit for such taxes on their own tax returns.
If more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets at the close of any taxable year consists of stock or securities of foreign corporations, which for this purpose may include obligations of foreign governmental issuers, the Fund may elect, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, to treat any foreign income or withholding taxes paid by the Fund as paid by its shareholders. For any year that the Fund is eligible for and makes such an election, each shareholder of the Fund will be required to include in income an amount equal to his or her allocable share of qualified foreign income taxes paid by the Fund, and shareholders will be entitled, subject to certain holding period requirements and other limitations, to credit their portions of these amounts against their U.S. federal income tax due, if any, or to deduct their portions from their U.S. taxable income, if any. No deductions for foreign taxes paid by the Fund may be claimed, however, by non-corporate shareholders who do not itemize deductions. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. Foreign taxes paid by the Fund will reduce the return from the Fund’s investments.
If the Fund holds shares in a “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the Fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.
The Fund may be eligible to treat a PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” under the Code in which case, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the Fund will be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the Fund, and such amounts will be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to make this election, the Fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain. Alternatively, the Fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in such Fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, the Fund would report any gains resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary income and would deduct any losses resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. The election must be made separately for each PFIC owned by the Fund and, once made, is effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the IRS. By making the election, the Fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. The Fund may have to distribute this excess income to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax. In order to distribute this income and avoid a tax at the fund level, the Fund might be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss.
Backup Withholding. The Fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as “backup withholding”) on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number certified under penalty of perjury; (2) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS for failure to properly report all payments of interest or dividends; (3) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is not subject to “backup withholding;” or (4) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s ultimate U.S. tax liability. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the U.S.
Non-U.S. Shareholders. Any non-U.S. investors in the Fund may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax and are encouraged to consult their tax advisors prior to investing in the Fund. Foreign shareholders (i.e., nonresident alien individuals and foreign corporations, partnerships, trusts and estates) are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or a lower tax treaty rate) on distributions derived from taxable ordinary income. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Short-term capital gain dividends received by a nonresident alien individual who is present in the U.S. for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year are not exempt from this 30% withholding tax. Gains realized by foreign shareholders from the sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless the recipient is an individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. Foreign shareholders who fail to provide an applicable IRS form may be subject to backup withholding on certain payments from the Fund. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that are subject to the 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) withholding tax described in this paragraph. Different tax consequences may result if the foreign shareholder is engaged in a trade or business within the United States. In addition, the tax consequences to a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of a tax treaty may be different than those described above.

34


Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold Shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to Fund distributions payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.
For foreign shareholders to qualify for an exemption from backup withholding, described above, the foreign shareholder must comply with special certification and filing requirements. Foreign shareholders in the Fund should consult their tax advisors in this regard.
Tax-Exempt Shareholders. Certain tax-exempt shareholders, including qualified pension plans, individual retirement accounts, salary deferral arrangements, 401(k) plans, and other tax-exempt entities, generally are exempt from federal income taxation except with respect to their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). Under the Tax Act, tax-exempt entities are not permitted to offset losses from one unrelated trade or business against the income or gain of another unrelated trade or business. Certain net losses incurred prior to January 1, 2018 are permitted to offset gain and income created by an unrelated trade or business, if otherwise available. Under current law, the Fund generally serves to block UBTI from being realized by its tax-exempt shareholders with respect to their shares of Fund income. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, tax-exempt shareholders could realize UBTI by virtue of their investment in the Fund if, for example, (i) the Fund invests in residual interests of Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (“REMICs”), (ii) the Fund invests in a REIT that is a taxable mortgage pool (“TMP”) or that has a subsidiary that is a TMP or that invests in the residual interest of a REMIC, or (iii) Shares constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholders within the meaning of section 514(b) of the Code. Charitable remainder trusts are subject to special rules and should consult their tax advisers. The IRS has issued guidance with respect to these issues and prospective shareholders, especially charitable remainder trusts, are strongly encouraged to consult with their tax advisers regarding these issues.
Certain Potential Tax Reporting Requirements. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of Shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting requirements. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
Other Issues. In those states which have income tax laws, the tax treatment of the Fund and of Fund shareholders with respect to distributions by the Fund may differ from federal tax treatment.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Financial Statements and Annual Reports will be available after the Fund has completed a fiscal year of operations. When available, you may request a copy of the Fund’s Annual Report at no charge by calling 1‑800‑617‑0004 or through the Fund’s website at www.etf.nationwide.com.

SAI-HVST

35


APPENDIX A

Harvest Volatility Management, LLC
PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES



I.
STATEMENT OF POLICY

Proxy voting is an important right of shareholders, and the Adviser must undertake reasonable care and diligence to ensure that such rights are properly and timely exercised. When the Adviser has discretion to vote its Clients’ proxies, it will vote those proxies according to its Clients’ best interests to maximize shareholder value and in accordance with these policies and procedures. For purposes of this policy, “proxies” are deemed to include the exercise of voluntary corporate actions, class actions and other rights.

II.
PROXY VOTING PROCEDURES

The CCO, a Delegate or a third party retained by the Adviser to assist in coordinating and voting proxies will:
A.
determine which accounts managed by the Adviser hold the security to which the proxy relates;
B.
determine whether any material conflict of interest exists that would inhibit the Adviser’s ability to vote the proxies objectively and in the best interest of the Client(s); and
C.
complete the proxy form and mail or electronically submit it in a timely and appropriate manner.
To determine whether a material conflict of interest exists, the Adviser should attempt to consider all factors related to a proxy vote that could affect the value of the investment. If a material conflict of interest exists, the Adviser will give the Client(s) the opportunity to vote the proxies themselves.

III.
VOTING GUIDELINES

Absent specific voting guidelines from Clients, the Adviser will vote proxies in the best interest of each particular Client, which may result in different voting results for proxies for the same issuer.
For other proposals, the Adviser should determine whether a proposal is in its Clients’ best interests and may consider the following factors, among others:

A.
whether the proposal was recommended by management and the Adviser’s opinion of management;

B.
whether the proposal acts to entrench existing management; and

C.
whether the proposal fairly compensates management for past and future performance.

The Adviser may refrain from voting a proxy [a] if the Adviser determines it is not in the best interest(s) of its Client(s), [b] if the security is not held as of the record date or [c] if the Adviser determines there is insufficient benefit to voting the proxy.

IV.
RECORDKEEPING

The CCO, a delegate, or a third party retained by the Adviser will maintain files relating to the Adviser’s proxy voting procedures in an easily accessible place, and Clients may obtain such files from the Adviser by submitting a written request. The party responsible for maintaining such files will keep a record of each proxy statement received, how the Adviser voted each proxy, and any document the Adviser created that was material to its voting decision or that memorializes such decision.


A-1


PART C: OTHER INFORMATION

Item 28. Exhibits

(a)
(i)
 
Certificate of Trust dated February 9, 2012 of ETF Series Solutions (the “Trust” or the “Registrant”) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on February 17, 2012.
 
(ii)
 
Registrant’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated February 17, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on February 17, 2012.
(b)
 
 
Registrant’s Amended and Restated Bylaws dated August 18, 2014, are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (b) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 8, 2014.
(c)
 
 
Not applicable.
(d)
(i)
(A)
Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and Nationwide Fund Advisors (“NFA”) dated July 13, 2017 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 11, 2017.
 
 
(B)
Amended Schedule A to Investment Advisory Agreement (adding NUSI) — filed herewith.
 
(ii)
 
Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between NFA and Vident Investment Advisory, LLC (“Vident”) dated July 13, 2017 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 11, 2017.
 
(iii)
 
Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between NFA and Harvest Volatility Management, LLC (“Harvest”) — filed herewith.
(e)
(i)
(A)
Distribution Agreement between the Trust and Quasar Distributors, LLC (Nationwide ETFs) dated July 18, 2017 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 11, 2017.
 
(ii)
 
Form of Authorized Participant Agreement for Quasar Distributors, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(iii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
(f)
 
 
Not applicable.
(g)
(i)
(A)
Custody Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bank National Association dated May 16, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
 
 
(B)
Exhibit R to Custody Agreement (Nationwide ETFs) dated July 18, 2017 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 11, 2017.
(h)
(i)
(A)
Fund Administration Servicing Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated May 16, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
 
 
(B)
Exhibit Q to Fund Administration Servicing Agreement (Nationwide ETFs) dated July 18, 2017 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 11, 2017.
 
(ii)
(A)
Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated May 16, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
 
 
(B)
Exhibit P to Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement (Nationwide ETFs) dated July 18, 2017 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(ii)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 11, 2017.
 
(iii)
(A)
Transfer Agent Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated May 16, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
 
 
(B)
Exhibit P to Transfer Agent Agreement (Nationwide ETFs) dated July 18, 2017 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(iii)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 11, 2017.
 
(iv)
(A)
Powers of Attorney dated July 18, 2018 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(iv)(C) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on August 3, 2018.
 
 
(B)
Powers of Attorney dated January 10, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(iv)(B) to the Registrant’s Registrations Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 24, 2019.
 
(v)
(A)
Compliance Services Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated August 17, 2015 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(v)(A) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 18, 2015.
 
 
(B)
Amended and Restated Exhibit A to Compliance Services Agreement dated October 18, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(v)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed November 8, 2019.
 
(vi)
 
Certificate of Secretary dated January 10, 2019 with respect to powers of attorney is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(vi) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 24, 2019.

C-1


(i)
(i)
 
Opinion and Consent of Counsel is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 11, 2017.
 
(ii)
 
Opinion and Consent of Counsel (NUSI) — filed herewith.
(j)
 
 
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm — filed herewith.
(k)
 
 
Not applicable.
(l)
(i)
 
Initial Capital Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated April 23, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (l)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
 
(ii)
 
Letter of Representations between the Trust and Depository Trust Company dated May 21, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (l)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
(m)
(i)
(A)
Rule 12b-1 Plan is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
 
 
(B)
Amended Schedule A to Rule 12b-1 Plan dated October 18, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed November 8, 2019.
(n)
 
 
Not applicable.
(o)
 
 
Reserved.
(p)
(i)
 
Code of Ethics for the Trust is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on March 15, 2018.
 
(ii)
 
Code of Ethics for Quasar Distributors, LLC dated March 17, 2014 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(iv) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2014.
 
(iii)
 
Code of Ethics for NFA dated April 5, 2017 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(iii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 11, 2017.
 
(iv)
 
Code of Ethics for Vident is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(iii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on July 25, 2017.
 
(v)
 
Code of Ethics for Harvest is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(v) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed September 9, 2019.
Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with Registrant
No person is directly or indirectly controlled by or under common control with the Registrant.
Item 30. Indemnification
The Trustees shall not be responsible or liable in any event for any neglect or wrongdoing of any officer, agent, employee, adviser or principal underwriter of the Trust, nor shall any Trustee be responsible for the act or omission of any other Trustee, and, subject to the provisions of the By-Laws, the Trust out of its assets may indemnify and hold harmless each and every Trustee and officer of the Trust from and against any and all claims, demands, costs, losses, expenses, and damages whatsoever arising out of or related to such Trustee’s or officer’s performance of his or her duties as a Trustee or officer of the Trust; provided that nothing herein contained shall indemnify, hold harmless or protect any Trustee or officer from or against any liability to the Trust or any Shareholder to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.
Every note, bond, contract, instrument, certificate or undertaking and every other act or thing whatsoever issued, executed or done by or on behalf of the Trust or the Trustees or any of them in connection with the Trust shall be conclusively deemed to have been issued, executed or done only in or with respect to their or his or her capacity as Trustees or Trustee, and such Trustees or Trustee shall not be personally liable thereon.
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) may be permitted to Trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such Trustee, officer, or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 31. Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser
This Item incorporated by reference each investment adviser’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (“Form ADV”) on file with the SEC, as listed below. Each Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

C-2


Additional information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by each officer and director of the below-listed investment advisers is included in the Trust’s Statement of Additional Information.
Investment Adviser
SEC File No.
Nationwide Fund Advisors
801-56370
Vident Investment Advisory, LLC
801-80534
Harvest Volatility Management, LLC
801-69037
Item 32. Principal Underwriter.
(a)
Quasar Distributors, LLC acts as principal underwriter for the following investment companies:
Advisors Series Trust
LoCorr Investment Trust
Aegis Funds
Lord Asset Management Trust
Allied Asset Advisors Funds
MainGate Trust
Alpha Architect ETF Trust
Managed Portfolio Series
Angel Oak Funds Trust
Manager Directed Portfolios
Barrett Opportunity Fund, Inc.
Matrix Advisors Fund Trust
Bridge Builder Trust
Matrix Advisors Value Fund, Inc.
Bridges Investment Fund, Inc.
Merger Fund
Brookfield Investment Funds
Monetta Trust
Brown Advisory Funds
Nicholas Equity Income Fund, Inc.
Buffalo Funds
Nicholas Family of Funds, Inc.
CG Funds Trust
Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds
Cushing® Mutual Funds Trust
Perritt Funds, Inc.
DoubleLine Funds Trust
PRIMECAP Odyssey Funds
ETF Series Solutions
Professionally Managed Portfolios
Evermore Funds Trust
Prospector Funds, Inc.
First American Funds, Inc.
Provident Mutual Funds, Inc.
FundX Investment Trust
Rainier Investment Management Mutual Funds
Glenmede Fund, Inc.
RBB Fund, Inc.
Glenmede Portfolios
RBC Funds Trust
GoodHaven Funds Trust
Series Portfolios Trust
Greenspring Fund, Inc.
Thompson IM Funds, Inc.
Harding Loevner Funds, Inc.
TigerShares Trust
Hennessy Funds Trust
TrimTabs ETF Trust
Horizon Funds
Trust for Professional Managers
Hotchkis & Wiley Funds
Trust for Advised Portfolios
Intrepid Capital Management Funds Trust
USA Mutuals
IronBridge Funds, Inc.
Wall Street EWM Funds Trust
Jacob Funds, Inc.
Westchester Capital Funds
Jensen Quality Growth Fund Inc.
Wisconsin Capital Funds, Inc.
Kirr Marbach Partners Funds, Inc.
YCG Funds
LKCM Funds
 

C-3


(b)    To the best of Registrant’s knowledge, the directors and executive officers of Quasar Distributors, LLC are as follows:
Name and Principal
Business Address
Position and Offices with Quasar Distributors, LLC
Positions and Offices with Registrant
Teresa Cowan(1)
President, Board Member, Board Chairperson
None
Andrew M. Strnad(2)
Vice President, Secretary
None
Joseph C. Neuberger(1)
Board Member
None
Michael Peck(1)
Board Member
None
Susan LaFond(1)
Vice President, Treasurer, Co-Chief Compliance Officer
None
Peter A. Hovel(1)
Chief Financial Officer
None
Jennifer Brunner(1)
Vice President, Co-Chief Compliance Officer
None
Brett Scribner(3)
Assistant Treasurer
None
Thomas A. Wolden(3)
Assistant Treasurer
None
(1) This individual is located at 777 East Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53202.
(2)   This individual is located at 10 West Market Street, Suite 1150, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46204.
(3)   This individual is located at 800 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55402.
(c)    Not applicable.
Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records
The books and records required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 are maintained at the following locations:
Records Relating to:
Are located at:
 
Registrant’s Fund Administrator, Fund Accountant and Transfer Agent
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street, 3rd Floor
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

 
Registrant’s Custodian
U.S. Bank, National Association
1555 N. Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212

 
Registrant’s Principal Underwriters
Quasar Distributors, LLC
777 E Wisconsin Ave, 6th Floor
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

 
Registrant’s Investment Adviser and Sub-Advisers
Nationwide Fund Advisors
One Nationwide Plaza,
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Vident Investment Advisory, LLC
1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515
Alpharetta, Georgia 30009

Harvest Volatility Management, LLC
420 Lexington Ave., Suite 2620
New York, New York 10170
Item 34. Management Services
Not applicable.
Item 35. Undertakings
Not applicable.


C-4



SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirement for effectiveness of this registration statement under rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Amendment to be signed below on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin, on November 22, 2019.
ETF Series Solutions


By: /s/ Michael D. Barolsky    
Michael D. Barolsky
Vice President and Secretary
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated on November 22, 2019.

Signature
Title
 
 
*/s/ David A. Massart   
Trustee
David A. Massart
 
 
 
*/s/ Janet D. Olsen   
Trustee
Janet D. Olsen
 
 
 
*/s/ Leonard M. Rush   
Trustee
Leonard M. Rush
 
 
 
*/s/ Michael A. Castino   
Trustee
Michael A. Castino
 
 
 
*/s/ Kristina R. Nelson
President
Kristina R. Nelson
 
 
 
*/s/ Kristen M. Weitzel
Treasurer
Kristen M. Weitzel
 





*By: /s/ Michael D. Barolsky   
   Michael D. Barolsky, Attorney-in-Fact
   pursuant to Powers of Attorney








INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Exhibit
Number
 

Description
(d)(i)(B)
 
Amended Schedule A to Investment Advisory Agreement (adding NUSI)
(d)(iii)
 
Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between NFA and Harvest Volatility Management, LLC
(i)(ii)
 
Opinion and Consent of Counsel (NUSI)
(j)
 
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm